Chris Sutton has just delivered a pretty harsh assessment on how one Chelsea player performed for his country at Euro 2024.
Chelsea supporters may be able to cope without any club football right now by tuning in and watching some of their stars represent their respective nations at the Euros this summer.
The major international tournament is also a place to keep an eye out for top players and potential targets.
Chelsea player criticised after Euros display
BBC pundit Chris Sutton has ripped into Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku after his first performance at this summer’s Euros competition. And yes, the 31-year-old striker is still on the books at Stamford Bridge following the end of his loan at Roma last season.
Lukaku started and failed to make his mark in Belgium’s 1-0 defeat against Slovakia on Monday night. It means the Belgians are under significant pressure going into Saturday’s second group stage match versus Romania.
The Chelsea forward simply had a match to forget because two goals were ruled out by VAR, plus he was sloppy in several different moments in the final third.
Sutton told BBC Sport: “This group has been blown wide open. I think everyone thought Belgium would be the team that finished top, but they are under pressure.
“They had a couple of goals disallowed against Slovakia, and the handball was harsh, but they also wasted a load of chances. Romelu Lukaku looked like he was playing with his boots on the wrong feet.”
Don’t write off Lukaku for Belgium
Chelsea fans know better than most how inconsistent Lukaku can be on a football pitch, but you can’t argue against his career statistics.
The left-footed forward has a staggering record of 85 goals in 116 Belgium senior caps.
He’s gone into this summer’s tournament fresh off a 21-goal season with Roma, so his game is in a decent place right now.
It won’t surprise us if he’s up to full speed and on the scoresheet more than once this weekend against Romania.