Juventus centre-back Leonardo Bonucci has insisted that he knows how to stop Chelsea talisman Romelu Lukaku ahead of the teams' meeting in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Thomas Tuchel takes his side to Turin for what will likely be the toughest test of the group stage as he looks to defend the European crown they won back in May.
Chelsea beat Zenit St Petersburg in their first match of the tournament, with Lukaku heading home the winner in that 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge. But coming up against Giorgio Chiellini and Bonucci is another challenge completely.
Although the Belgian scored from the penalty spot when Italy clashed with the Red Devils at Euro 2020, the pair did an excellent job defensively against Lukaku in the 2-1 victory, and Bonucci says he knows exactly what to do.
"Romelu Lukaku has proven himself to be a complete striker," Bonucci said in an interview with the Athletic.
"He can win games on his own. When you come up against him you have to be switched on for 100 minutes a game. Unfortunately for us defenders, we can't disengage our brains even for 10 seconds because those 10 seconds might be lethal.
"You must never engage Lukaku in a physical battle or play touch-tight. Instead, be ready to drop off because when his team has the ball, he will try to run in behind.
"In the box, he's great at playing man-to-man so you need to be on the front foot, try to read the game and play hard. If you let him take up a position and he gets ahead of you, you won't be able to step out and anticipate what's coming."
Italy went on to win Euro 2020, beating England in the final at Wembley, with Bonucci scoring the crucial equaliser in the capital.
Lukaku does not have a good record when playing against the formidable Italian defenders, scoring just once in six appearances against them while playing for Inter Milan, with that strike also coming from the penalty spot.
