Lukaku returned to Stamford Bridge last summer for a second spell with Chelsea, a decade after initially joining the club as a teenager, but his first season back in England was one of ups and downs, with peaks and runs of goals interspersed by quiet periods as he adapted to the team’s tactics and had to remain patient due to the form of other players.

Flying start

The Belgian has made a habit of introducing himself with a bang at new clubs and his return to Chelsea and the Premier League was no exception, as he enjoyed a promising opening to his second spell with the Blues. It started with a textbook centre-forward’s performance in his first match at Arsenal, opening the scoring and bullying the Gunners’ defence throughout a 2-0 victory.

Lukaku did not manage the same impact in a difficult draw at Liverpool, when Chelsea were reduced to 10 men before half-time, but he then fulfilled his childhood dream of scoring at Stamford Bridge – twice – when we beat Aston Villa 3-0, before hitting the net again against Zenit St Petersburg to make it four goals in as many games since his return to west London.

However, the goals did not remain so easy to come by, as our new striker took time to get to grips with the demands of a gruelling Premier League campaign again, while adapting to the style of play. That situation was exacerbated by a troublesome ankle injury, suffered in a Champions League win over Malmo, which he struggled to shake off and severely restricted his appearances as we entered early winter.

Back on track

Being mostly used as a substitute while Thomas Tuchel attempted to ease him back into the action, Lukaku had to wait until December for his next chance to celebrate a goal for the Blues, in the return match with Zenit.

That proved to be a false dawn, though, as a setback kept him out for another few weeks, but he returned with an important contribution at the end of the year. On his first start since that 3-3 draw in Russia at the start of December, and only his second since the initial injury in October, Lukaku got the decisive goal in our Boxing Day win at Villa Park. He followed it up with the opener against Brighton in our last match of 2021, although a late equaliser meant we had to settle for a draw on that occasion.

While those performances did not reopen the floodgates, with his early-season scoring form still proving elusive, in the Premier League at least, arguably his best moment of the campaign arrived just over a month later.

As Chelsea travelled to Abu Dhabi, Lukaku played a central role as we lifted the FIFA Club World Cup trophy for the first time ever. He showed a predator's instincts to slot in the only goal of the semi-final with Al Hilal from close range, before his towering header from Callum Hudson-Odoi's cross opened the scoring in the final, as we beat Brazilian side Palmeiras in extra time.

Waiting for opportunities

However, despite those important goals, the form of Kai Havertz in the central striker’s role meant Lukaku had to be patient during the second half of the season, taking his chances in the team when they presented themselves.

He found the net against Chesterfield, Luton and Middlesbrough in the FA Cup as we reached the final of that competition, but in the league he managed just two starts between our return from Abu Dhabi and the beginning of May.

That final month brought another important scoring contribution from the Belgian, though, as his brace gave us a 2-2 draw at Wolves before a much-improved scoring performance in a 3-0 win at Leeds United helped a tired squad cross the line and secure a third-place finish and Champions League qualification.

Romelu Lukaku 2021/22 Chelsea stats

Appearances: 44

Starts: 29

Substituted: 11

Unused sub: 5

Minutes played: 2,977

Goals: 15

Assists: 2