Thomas Tuchel has insisted he is not worried about Romelu Lukaku’s recent form.
The Chelsea striker has not scored in seven games and struggled in the 1-0 win at Brentford, where Lukaku was substituted with 13 minutes left.
But Blues boss Tuchel defended him when asked if he was concerned about Lukaku’s dip in form
The German said at his post-match press conference: “I just felt him a bit tired. I thought we did, all together, a very strong 65 or 70 minutes including Romelu.
“I’m not concerned. I felt him a bit tired – and then isolated because we as a block were defending too deep.
“No concerns. The best thing is if he scores, but he’s very unselfish and when he was in (goalscoring) situations it was close offside decisions.
“That’s the way it is sometimes. No need to worry.”
Brentford laid siege to Chelsea’s goal in the second half in search of an equaliser after Ben Chilwell’s goal.
But superb saves by Blues keeper Edouard Mendy kept them at bay.
Speaking at his press conference, Bees boss Thomas Frank said: “When you look at the stats and chances we had. Nine out of ten times we would have won that.
“He (Mendy) was the reason we didn’t win. He was absolutely world class and was crazy good for Chelsea.
“It was a little bit annoying he was so good. If you’re going to win anything you need a top keeper and we couldn’t get past Mendy. He’s a very good keeper.”
