Tuchel fines Lukaku over Chelsea ‘mess’ despite striker’s apology for interview

The Guardian says Thomas Tuchel will fine Romelu Lukaku despite accepting the striker’s apology for a controversial interview and has said he faced no opposition from Chelsea’s board after dropping the club’s record signing against Liverpool.

Player power has been a problem for many of Tuchel’s predecessors but the manager has been boosted by support from above since Lukaku publicised his unhappiness about life at Stamford Bridge. Tuchel was in a strong position when he held talks with the £97.5m forward on Monday and looked for signs of remorse before recalling him for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jan/04/chelsea-lukaku-sorry-clean-mess-up-tuchel