Seven touches in 90 minutes – Lukaku has historically quiet game for Chelsea

Romelu Lukaku had one of the quietest games in Premier League history as Chelsea overcame Crystal Palace 1-0 on Saturday. 

A last-gasp goal from Hakim Ziyech stole all three points for Chelsea, who looked to be heading for a disappointing draw at Selhurst Park following an ineffectual display from Lukaku. 

The Belgium international had just seven touches across the entire match. That is the fewest in a single top-flight game for a player to feature for at least 90 minutes since Opta started collecting the data in 2003-04. 

Lukaku only had two touches in the first half – one of which was from the kick-off – and completed just four of his six passes. 

7 – Romelu Lukaku had just seven touches against Crystal Palace, the fewest in a single Premier League game for a player with 90+ minutes played since this data is available in full for the competition (2003-04). One of those touches was from kick-off in the first half. Quiet.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 19, 2022

He did not register a single shot and was caught offside twice, with one of those leading to Ziyech having a goal disallowed by VAR. 

Asked about Lukaku’s lack of touches, head coach Thomas Tuchel said: “It says he was not involved and could not make a point. I’m not sure it says so much about us in general.” 

Lukaku scored in the semi-final and final of Chelsea’s Club World Cup success last week but has found the back of the net just twice in his past 14 Premier League outings.