EPL: His teammates failed him – Poyet names ‘excellent’ Chelsea star after 1-1 draw with Brighton

Chelsea legend, Gus Poyet has singled out ‘excellent’ Romelu Lukaku for praise after Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Brighton at Stamford Bridge, saying that his teammates failed him.

Lukaku made his first league start in two months and fired Thomas Tuchel’s side in front in the 28th minute with a fine header.

But his teammates, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Mason Mount wasted clear opportunities created by the Belgium international to put the match to bed.

The Blues paid for their wastefulness when Danny Welbeck scored an injury-time equaliser to earn Brighton a well-deserved point.

But former Chelsea star, Poyet hailed Lukaku’s performance.

Poyet told Amazon Prime, “It’s great to see a striker of that quality.

“He was winning the ball in the air, the way he linked the play, his first touch. He played for the rest of the team.

“If [Mason] Mount and [Callum] Hudson-Odoi were in a better mood today they would be winning 2-0 or 3-0. But because of the other players they are not winning by more.

“Lukaku was excellent. Holding the ball up, playing for the rest of the team, unfortunately his team-mates didn’t do the right thing in those moments.”

Thomas Tuchel’s struggling Chelsea could go second in the league table with a win over Liverpool on Sunday.

However, Liverpool will look to bounce back from their disappointing 1-0 loss to Leicester City on Tuesday.