Romelu Lukaku may be wishing he had kept his thoughts to himself after the reaction to his remarks from his own manager and Chelsea fans. The lasting repercussions may prove broader and less immediately obvious.
Discontent felt as if it might turn into mutiny in the first half when Chelsea played Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.
Home fans had already been angry before kick-off, with most united by their disdain for Romelu Lukaku’s words during the week, and tetchy at being deprived of the player who should be their main goal threat during a patchy run of form. The majority verdict – that Thomas Tuchel was entitled to banish Lukaku for the distraction caused by his fawning remarks about old club Inter Milan to an Italian outlet – was sorely tested for half an hour or so.
Sadio Mane, who arguably should not have been on the pitch after elbowing Cesar Azpilicueta with jarring force in the opening minute, and Mohamed Salah, back on inspired form after his hapless evening against Leicester, put Liverpool two up inside 27 minutes.
Tuchel must, at the very least, have wished somewhere in his subconscious that he had Lukaku on the bench at that point, the mood around the place hurtling from defiant to panicked.
Broad judgements are made and then rapidly redefined by moments. Mateo Kovacic scored with an exquisite volley, Christian Pulisic produced a clinical finish and the hopelessness of that beginning was forgotten by half-time. A breathless second half provided no more goals and a draw that really benefits neither side in what looks increasingly like a futile pursuit of Manchester City.
It did not seem acutely evident that Lukaku, whose two goals in his last two appearances have been more of a relief than a statement of promise, was hugely missed. The likelihood is that he will be reintegrated into the squad shortly, Tuchel’s authority asserted. The broader repercussions are potentially an even further narrowing of meaningful communication from players.
While the storm around Lukaku’s absence from the squad was growing before kick-off, Gary Neville suggested that Lukaku had been punished for telling the truth. Neville called the forward’s words “brutal”, and they were undoubtedly ill-chosen: calling yourself unhappy and pledging not to “give up” because a manager picks a particular system sounds like badly misjudged arrogance less than five months after becoming a club’s record signing for $130 million.