Romelu Lukaku has apologised to Thomas Tuchel for a controversial interview released last week and feels a responsibility to "clean the mess up", according to the Chelsea head coach.
Lukaku was left out of Chelsea's 20-man squad for Sunday's crucial Premier League clash with Liverpool due to comments made in the Italian press.
In the wide-ranging 30-minute discussion, Lukaku said he "is not very happy with the situation" he finds himself in at Chelsea and expressed his desire to one day return to Inter.
The interview, which was conducted three weeks ago but only aired on Thursday and Friday, dominated the pre-match talk ahead of the Blues' 2-2 draw with Liverpool.
Tuchel later stood by his decision to omit the Belgium international, who had scored in Chelsea's previous two games, stating that the issue "got too big and too noisy".
Speculation in the subsequent days has suggested Lukaku, who rejoined the Blues for a club-record fee in August, could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge this year.
But after holding clear-the-air talks with Lukaku on Monday, and with the 28-year-old returning to training on Tuesday, Tuchel is hoping to draw a line under the matter.
"We were happy we took the time to look calmly on it. He apologised and is back in the squad for today's training," Tuchel said at a news conference on Tuesday.
"For me, the most important thing was to understand. He did not do this intentionally to create this kind of noise in front of a big game.
"There are zero doubts about his commitment to the team and the club. Romelu is very aware of what happened and what he created.
"I never, before the interview, had the slightest doubt that he was not committed. He is an emotional guy, he does not hold back with his opinion.
"We should not just blame him and point on the negative side of it. It created some noise that you don't want but there are zero doubts in his commitment to the team."
Lukaku has scored seven goals in 18 appearances since returning to Chelsea in a campaign blighted by an ankle injury and a positive test for coronavirus.
While Tuchel has accepted Lukaku's apology, it remains to be seen whether he will be welcomed back by Chelsea fans after he admitted his preferred choice was to stay at Inter.
Asked about what reception Lukaku can expect, Tuchel said: "He is aware of what happened and he created and feels the responsibility to clean the mess up.
"But there may still be a smell of course. We are happy that he is our player and we will protect him. If someone strongly disagrees, this is about the team with everything we do.
"Of course he should have known better but that is why we have cleared the air together."
Lukaku is now in contention to return to Chelsea's line-up for Wednesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham, who are managed by his ex-Inter boss Antonio Conte.
The Belgian scored 47 goals in 72 league appearances with Conte at Inter – his best such tally under any manager – for a return of 0.72 goals per 90 minutes.
That compares to 0.54 goals per 90 minutes for Chelsea across his 13 games since returning, with the striker having also yet to assist a goal.
Tuchel does not believe it is down to him to get more out of Lukaku, however, but more to do with the former Manchester United man readapting to the Premier League.
"I think the players get the best out of themselves," he said. "With Romelu it is not about finding positions. He is a striker, a number nine and that is it.
"It is about adaption to a different team, team-mates, then comes COVID. We are in a totally normal place with him."
Real Madrid hit Twente for seven, five-star Wolfsburg also win big
Real Madrid had six different goalscorers as they trounced Twente 7-0 in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg beat Galatasaray 5-0.
Signe Bruun opened the scoring three minutes into the Group B encounter at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, then Maria Mendez's header gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead.
Madrid, who had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the tournament, got a third through Naomie Feller five minutes into the second half, then Caroline Weir made it 4-0 with a brilliant free-kick.
Mendez headed home her second of the encounter shortly after the hour mark, while Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho got on the scoresheet late on to complete the rout.
The victory took Madrid second in the Group B standings ahead of Chelsea's trip to Celtic.
Wolfsburg were also convincing victors in Group A, getting off the mark for this season's competition as Rebecka Blomqvist scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray.
The Bundesliga side – who failed to pick up a point or score a goal in their opening two matches – had a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time through Joelle Wedemeyer, before Blomqvist took centre-stage in the second period.
She tapped home after Janina Minge struck the crossbar, then added her second goal in the 77th minute and her third six minutes into stoppage time.
Vivien Endemann powered home a fifth for Wolfsburg one minute later, as they provisionally moved within three points of Lyon and Roma ahead of their meeting.
Taylor pleased with City's physical test during Hammarby win
Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.
City's win extended their unbeaten start to the season, having won every game in all competitions following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on opening day.
“Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game
“I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.
“[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.
“At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.
“I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”
The victory leaves City top of their Champions League group with a 100% record after three matches, three points above second-placed Barcelona.
Taylor had made changes to City's starting XI, with Lauren Hemp among the trio to drop out from the weekend and she did not feature in the squad. Ahead of their weekend game against Chelsea, who are second in the WSL, Taylor explained the reasoning behind Hemp's absence.
“We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.
“It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.
“Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”
'It's been a long time,' says McKenna after Ipswich stun Tottenham for first league win
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna said it was a 'special' moment for the club after they earned their first Premier League win of the season by beating Tottenham 2-1.
Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap scored for Ipswich before half-time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Though Tottenham reduced the deficit through Rodrigo Bentancur in the 69th minute, the Tractor Boys held on for a famous win.
It was also Ipswich's first win in the Premier League since a 1-0 victory over Middlesborough in April 2002, ending a run of 12 away games without a win (D3 L9).
"I am so proud. It's been a long time for the club, 22 years since the supporters saw a win in the Premier League. The journey to get to here has been a big one," McKenna told BBC Sport after the game.
"It feels a bit special today. We believe we’ve been improving. We had picked up five out of 10 results but were waiting for the first win to validate the work and improvements. It’s a massive moment, one to cherish."
The result was extra special for an Ipswich side, who were denied a win by Leicester City last week through a 94th-minute equaliser from Jordan Ayew, who made it 1-1 at Portman Road.
But Szmodics and Delap – the latter with his sixth Premier League goal of the season – struck in the first half to give Ipswich a two-goal cushion.
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