Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois backs Romelu Lukaku to succeed at Chelsea ahead of Champions League clash
Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois has backed Romelu Lukaku to succeed at Chelsea as the Belgian compatriots face off against each other later today in the Champions League. The first leg of the quarter-finals will take place at Stamford Bridge as both teams would look to gain a foothold in the tie.
Lukaku joined the Blues for a club-record fee of £98million after leaving Inter Milan at the start of this campaign. Expectations were naturally high due to the price tag as well as his excellent performances in Serie A with his former club. However, things have been far from rosy as he has struggled to impose himself as a starter.
Courtois, who left the West London side to join Real in 2018, has tipped the Chelsea star to turn things around in the future. Speaking in the pre-match press conference (h/t Chelsea official website), the shot-stopper has expressed his belief that the striker will overcome the obstacles in his way soon.
“It’s a bit strange to see him [Lukaku] not play so much lately, but he’s a guy with enormous quality. Obviously, there’s other great strikers at Chelsea so I understand it’s not always easy and if the team keeps winning, the manager keeps playing the same players. But I’m sure he will go through it.”
There’s still time
Los Blancos‘ goalkeeper further added that there are times when it would take some time for players to adapt to the new surroundings. He made a case by comparing Lukaku’s situation to his first season in the Spanish capital. F
“Sometimes you just need a little adaptation. I had the same in Madrid, the first year wasn’t easy. You change tactics, you change team, you change trainers so you need to adapt again to everything and I’m sure he will be good, but I hope it is not tomorrow. He can wait one more week!”
The Blues centre-forward has seen himself fall down the pecking order after Kai Havertz has piped him to lead the attack from the front. Despite the struggles, Lukaku still can turn things around, which is evident from Havert’s own setbacks in his first season with us.
Despite the struggles, Lukaku still has 12 goals and two assists to his name this campaign from 35 appearances across all competitions. A great end to this term would greatly improve the 28-year-old’s morale and boost his future prospects from the next season onwards.
We still are in contention to retain the CL title as well as win the FA Cup for the current campaign. Lukaku can use this opportunity to make a mark as being decisive in such games can be of great help at this moment. Havertz’s crucial goal in the CL final did turn things around despite him enduring a difficult season.
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Lukaku should take a page from Havertz’s books and use that to cement himself as a starter under Thomas Tuchel. We could definitely use the former Manchester United man’s best form against Carlo Ancelotti’s side in the quarter-finals round. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen.