Romelu Lukaku was an unused substitute in Chelsea's win over Lille because Thomas Tuchel wanted to keep him out of "the next fire".
Lukaku was the subject of intense criticism following his display in the 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Belgium striker managed just seven touches – the fewest of any player to complete 90 minutes in a single top-flight game since Opta has the data available (2003-04)
Kai Havertz led the line against Lille instead of Lukaku and the Germany international opened the scoring in the first leg of the last-16 tie at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Christian Pulisic wrapped up the win for the Blues, with Tuchel pleased Lukaku was able to escape the spotlight.
"It was not the moment after the match where everybody was focused on the few touches that we had to put him right into the next fire. It was the moment to take a step back. That was the decision and that's it," said Tuchel.
"You can clearly see we have a strong win and strong performance. It was a tough match and almost every question is about Romelu. The focus is huge. There were nine other players who did not play.
"We should never forget we consider this sport a team sport and the 11 guys who play do everything to commit fully to what we plan and commit fully to their team-mates. Those on the bench have to do the same and this is how it works.
"Especially at Chelsea and especially for us and this is how we win football matches."
Tuchel said prior to kick-off that Lukaku had been left out because he was "exhausted", though in his post-match news conference he clarified his comments.
The German made it clear Lukaku has every chance of being selected for the EFL Cup final against Liverpool on Sunday.
"Every game is different. The focus today was on intensity and a high-speed game. It was about hard work against the ball, off the ball and having intensive teamwork," said Tuchel.
"Romelu struggled in the last few games a little bit to deliver that. That's what I meant when I felt him a bit tired both mentally and physically.
"Since the Liverpool game [he missed on January 2], he started every match and there were some extra times as well. Today, we went for three other players with Kai in great shape, very confident and giving a lot of work rate and high-intensity metres for the team.
"Yes, for the team, the decision doesn't need to be made today but can be in the next four days. He [Lukaku] has every chance to play."
Since the Liverpool game, only Antonio Rudiger (960) has played more minutes for Chelsea in all competitions than Lukaku (861 – level with Cesar Azpilicueta).
Lydia Bedford takes Brentford Under-18s reins in landmark appointment for women
Lydia Bedford has been announced as Brentford Under-18s head coach in a landmark appointment.
Bedford has left her position as assistant boss with Arsenal’s women team to become the first female coach to take the reins at a men’s professional side in England.
The former Leicester manager is set to work alongside Jon-Paul Pittman, who will join as assistant coach from Forest Green.
Brentford director of football Phil Giles said: “I’m really pleased that we’ve managed to attract such talented coaches as Lydia and Jon-Paul to our under-18 team for next year.
“We undertook an extensive recruitment process for these roles. Lydia and Jon-Paul were the two best candidates, and thankfully we were able to finalise their recruitment to the staff.
“I’m sure they will excel, and we all look forward to working with them through pre-season and beyond.”
Kyogo Furuhashi ‘bullish’ about making Scottish Cup final – Ange Postecoglou
Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi is “bullish” about his chances of making the Scottish Cup final despite not training so far this week.
The Japan international went off with a leg knock during last Saturday’s 5-0 win over Aberdeen after coming off worse in a 50-50 with Dons goalkeeper Kelle Roos.
The 28-year-old has scored 33 goals this season and won a clean sweep of Scotland’s player of the year awards, and he has an impressive record in cup finals, with match-winning doubles in the League Cup in each of his two seasons with Celtic.
Boss Ange Postecoglou said: “Kyogo is progressing. He hasn’t trained yet. The plan is to get him out there tomorrow (Friday) and see how he goes. He is doing some individual stuff this afternoon.
“He always is, but he is still pretty bullish about playing so we will just see how he goes.
“We will be guided by him a little bit. We have done that in the past. He has had a couple of times, whether it’s with his shoulder or in last year’s League Cup final he went in with a hamstring that wasn’t totally healed and scored a couple of goals.
“So I will be guided by him. He is very strong mentally so if he gives us the green light we will put him in there.”
The only definite absentee is Australia midfielder Aaron Mooy, who has been nursing a back problem in recent weeks.
Postecoglou said: “(Alistair) Johnston is fine, he has trained all week and (Sead) Haksabanovic is back in so he is available as well. The only real absence is Aaron Mooy.”
UEFA awaits reports following Jose Mourinho’s rant at referee Anthony Taylor
UEFA is awaiting the match official’s reports before deciding whether to take action against Jose Mourinho for his rant at referee Anthony Taylor after Roma’s Europa League final defeat, the PA news agency understands.
Roma boss Mourinho was critical of Taylor in his post-match press conference after his side’s penalty shoot-out defeat to Sevilla in Budapest on Wednesday night.
And in video footage which later emerged on social media, the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager is seen gesticulating at Taylor and officials in the stadium car park and heard saying “disgrace”.
Taylor booked Mourinho during the game, which finished 1-1 after extra time before Sevilla sealed their seventh Europa League triumph by winning 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out.
Tempers simmered on and off the pitch in a disappointing final, with 13 players shown yellow cards, seven of them to Roma players, while fourth official Michael Oliver had his work cut out to keep control of both dug-outs.
The game was littered with delays, with a total of 25 minutes’ stoppage time added to the 120 minutes of playing time.
Mourinho lost for the first time in his sixth major European final, while Sevilla extended their record number of tournament wins following previous successes in 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2020.
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