Chelsea boss Tuchel talks Lukaku and reveals Mount hope for Liverpool final

The Chelsea manager was speaking in his pre-match press conference against Crystal Palace, and says striker Romelu Lukaku deserves more patience as he looks to rediscover his goal scoring touch.

The Blues are back in action in the Premier League after returning from Abu Dhabi where they won their first ever Club World Cup beating Palmeiras 2-1.

Having won two trophies this season, including the UEFA Super Cup, Tuchel's side have the chance of winning their third when they take on the Reds in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, February 27.

They are in a race against time though to make sure that one of their star players, Mount, is fit for the game after he suffered ankle ligament damage in the first minute of the match against the Brazilian side.

"We will push for the League Cup final," the former Borussia Dortmund manager said when asked for an update about the 23-year-old.

"We will push and he has injured ligaments in the very first minute of the final unfortunately.

"So the Champions League seems to be very, very close and we'll try hard for the League Cup final."

One player who could make an impact in the Blues' next match is Lukaku.

After his explosive interview with Italian media in December 2021, where the Belgian said he 'was not happy with the situation' at Chelsea, Lukaku is showing signs of improvement.

The club's record signing found the net in the semi-final and final at the Club World Cup, but Tuchel has insisted that people need to be 'patient' with him.

"I still believe that he will [score goals]. We need a bit more patience than we all have.

"We demand a lot from our strikers in terms of intensity, so there are several reasons why things are maybe like this and we are on it.

"We want to bring Romelu in better situations, we want to understand him better, it is an ongoing process but we still have trust because he has proved that he is the guy to have the last touch and score goals.

"Disappointed is not the right word but of course we thought and for him as well, he wanted to produce the numbers right from the start but we are all humans and we demand a lot defensively from our strikers as well."