Thomas Tuchel explained his decision to drop Romelu Lukaku from his Chelsea squad ahead of their huge clash with Liverpool was designed to "protect the preparation".
Lukaku hit the headlines this week after he admitted he is "not happy" with his situation at Chelsea and suggested Tuchel is not playing to his strengths in a bombshell interview with Sky Sport Italia.
The 28-year-old was left out of the Blues side entirely for the visit of Liverpool in the first game since the interview aired as Tuchel took matters into his own hands.
According to the Independent, the Chelsea dressing room has sided with Tuchel over his controversial decision to drop the Belgian.
It is claimed the players are 'broadly supportive' of Tuchel's handling of what has become a tricky situation.
The German manager was quizzed on the situation ahead of their game at Stamford Bridge and explained he did not want anything to distract from their preparations as he also revealed he consulted his senior players.
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"The thing got too big, the thing got too noisy so close to the match," Tuchel told Sky Sports. "So I decided to protect the preparation of the match, that's why he's out."
Asked if he had spoken to Lukaku, he said: "Of course. We have spoken, we've spoken twice and spoken to the main players, of course.
"After that we have to realise it's too close to the match, it's too big. We delayed the decision of what to do, and whilst we are delaying it we need to protect the preparation of the match.
"We have a big match of football to play and we need full focus, which anyway is hard to get even with this decision.
"But it is, in my opinion, easier if he is not in the squad and that's why we did it."
Tuchel also addressed the Lukaku situation in a pre-recorded interview aired on Sky Sports a few hours ahead of the game.
He told Sky Sports that while his words don’t reflect his attitude, it is still a big worry: "To speak out these things as a big player, a big signing and a key player for us, who behaves on a daily basis like he is absolutely happy, is a concern and a big deal for us.
“We have to speak to him and he has to speak to us.”
