The stat-line pieced together by Romelu Lukaku during Chelsea’s meeting with Plymouth Argyle on Saturday makes for altogether concerning reading from a Blues perspective.
Belgian hitman Lukaku, amid a shaky spell of recent form, was afforded his latest opportunity to get things back on track with a start as the spearhead in Chelsea’s FA Cup 4th-round clash.
To say that the former Inter Milan man ultimately failed to take advantage of the faith of boss Thomas Tuchel, though, would be putting it lightly.
An ineffective, frankly lifeless performance, during which he looked in no way a superior player to those on display for Championship outfit Plymouth, saw Lukaku fail to either find the net, or threaten as a whole.
And such woes, as alluded to above, have since given rise to an altogether alarming round of statistics, highlighting just how poor Chelsea’s big-money summer addition was on Saturday afternoon:
Romelu Lukaku vs Plymouth Argyle
31 Touches in 120 minutes
0 Goals
0 Assists
0/2 Dribbles
1/10 Duels wonWhat is wrong with Chelsea’s #9? pic.twitter.com/rs5yWn10MD
— ChelseaFC365 ™ (@CFC365Official) February 5, 2022
Kepa to the rescue
Chelsea ultimately managed to get the job done to book their spot in the 5th-round of the FA Cup yesterday, emerging on the right side of a 2-1 scoreline.
This only came, however, after a full 120 minutes of action at Stamford Bridge, with Kepa Arrizabalaga the hero on the day.
After Marcos Alonso restored the Pensioners’ advantage late in the first-half of extra time, it appeared as though Chelsea had finally done enough to put a plucky Plymouth outfit away.
The Pilgrims simply refused to accept defeat lying down, though, eventually resulting in a spot-kick being awarded in their favour with a full 118 minutes on the clock.
Ryan Hardie’s ensuing effort, however, was not only kept out, but held onto by the aforementioned Kepa, to send Plymouth back to Devon with little more than pride to show for their efforts, and Chelsea on to the FA Cup’s Last-16.
? @ChelseaFC went 120 minutes with @only1argyle as a @CesarAzpi back-heel and Marcos Alonso extra-time winner saw them through to the #EmiratesFACup fifth round pic.twitter.com/Uybrfg5uGM
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) February 5, 2022
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