Premier League: Chelsea facing Lukaku crisis after Man City catastrophe

Something has to give between Chelsea and Romelu Lukaku following Saturday’s painful 1-0 loss against Manchester City – a defeat that ends any prospect of a title challenge from the Blues.

Following the match, Chelsea are now a distant 65.00 to lift the trophy, while City have strengthened to 1.09. It is hard to see past Pep Guardiola’s men earning back-to-back crowns now.

The club-record signing attacked the club and manager Thomas Tuchel in a remarkable interview earlier this month, tacitly admitting that he regretted leaving Inter in the summer to move back to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea might be renowned as the ultimate player-power club, but even they refused to buckle under pressure from the forward, instead supporting the manager, whose credit banked in winning the Champions League last season is buying him time to mend the out-of-sorts team.

No-one in Tuchel’s ranks, though, is as out of sorts as Lukaku – and the manager fired a very public warning to his No.9 following the defeat, suggesting that he is failing in his duties to do the bare minimum for the team.

Looking at the statistics, it is hard to argue with the German. Lukaku managed only 21 touches over 90 minutes against City, completed a dreadful 58% of his passes and failed to win a single duel from the 14 he attempted on the ground and in the air.

Far from being the player to make a big difference in these high-profile encounters, he not only appears to have unbalanced the team on the field but off it, too.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was critical of striker Romelu Lukaku after the defeat by Man City

Coutinho’s incredible return

Manchester United may continue to be as dysfunctional as ever, but it was thrilling to see Philippe Coutinho return to the Premier League with a bang as he helped Aston Villa recover from 2-0 down to earn a point at home.

The Brazil star has regaled the Premier League in a previous stint with Liverpool but since leaving Anfield four years ago became something of a forgotten figure at Barcelona, where he lost his form and confidence.

If he can regain that under former Reds team-mate Steven Gerrard, Villa will have a powerful force on their hands who will help spring them up the standings.

Gerrard has spoken of the importance of having Coutinho regain his self-belief, and what better way to start than a goal on debut after just 14 minutes? Villa are now 2.4 to finish in the top half which looks like a decent bet.

Premier League sets dangerous precedent

The north London derby is a rivalry full of talking points, yet in the long history of the fixture, rarely can a game that did not even happen cause so much controversy.

While the Premier League fixture list this weekend was reduced by Covid postponements, the decision to call off this clash was a good deal more controversial, especially given its potential importance in the race for Champions League places, in which Spurs are priced at 3.2 and Arsenal on offer at 3.0.

The Gunners, after all, post only one case of the virus in their ranks and requested a re-arrangement on the basis of their injury issues.

It’s easy to feel some sense of sympathy for Spurs in this case. Their rivals, after all, had only in the days previous confirmed loan deals out for both Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Folarin Balogun. Surely having allowed these players to depart, they should have been in a better position to cope with a handful of new injuries?

By upholding Arsenal’s request, the Premier League have set a dangerous precedent that opens the door to other clubs seeking postponements for the type of injury problems that are part-and-parcel of football.

Newcastle remain under pressure

At the foot of the table, meanwhile, Newcastle remain in relegation danger after failing to beat Watford at home.

Norwich’s stunning win over Everton, which saw the end of Rafa Benitez at Goodison Park, carried them above the Magpies in the standings, with the cash-rich Saudi-owned outfit only being kept off the bottom of the table by a Burnley side with three games in hand over them.

Eddie Howe’s side have a remarkable inability to win games and their price of 1.97 to avoid the drop appears to be inflated because of the expectation that big signings will come in the final fortnight of the transfer window. If they do not, the Toon could be in big trouble.

Indeed, with Watford to face Burnley and Norwich in their next two matches, the St James’ Park side could be seven points from safety by the time they next take the field in a clash with Leeds next weekend that promises to be one that will re-shape the relegation dogfight.

Certainly, this will be an important week in determining who goes into the Championship next season, with Norwich still at 1.18, despite their victory, and Watford priced at 1.58.