Maybe it was because the life expectancy of a Chelsea manager is less than that of some suicide bombers.

Or maybe it was just loneliness.

Alone up front on the field and alone off it too, living away from his family in London.

Whatever it was that persuaded Romelu Lukaku to throw his toys out of the pram, it has backfired.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has won this battle hands down. But it’s the war that the German has to worry about.

Lukaku is the club’s record signing at £97.5m – an amount that’s more than loose change even for a billionaire owner.

Bought from Inter Milan, Roman Abramovich saw him as the last piece in the jigsaw.

Built like the proverbial brick outhouse with a Ferrari engine, Lukaku was expected to deliver the goals that would regain the English Premier League title from Manchester City.

To finish off all that fancy build-up play from those expensive midfielders the club has gathered to serve up chances on a platter.

As the world now knows, it hasn’t quite worked out like that: City are 10 points ahead and not all of it is the Belgian’s fault.

In the now-infamous interview with a friendly Italian journalist, Tuchel cops much of the blame – at least according to Lukaku.

The manager is not playing a system that gets the best out him – unlike how Antonio Conte played at Inter.

Lukaku was the spearhead of a title-winning side and Conte gave him a handy sidekick, too, in Lautaro Martinez.

The big man had never looked happier. He was banging in the goals, a champion idolised by the fans.

Life couldn’t get better.

But Inter’s then Chinese owners Suning needed cash and Abramovich provided it. Lukaku didn’t really want to leave.

To ease the pain – and he didn’t mention this in the interview – he was made an offer he couldn’t refuse: double what Inter were paying him to become one of the highest earners in the EPL.

His arrival caused the bookies to slash the odds against a Chelsea title and some even made the Blues favourites.

Four goals in his first four games reaffirmed the view, especially after City had failed to prise Harry Kane from Spurs.

But then the goals dried up. There were niggling injuries and then he got Covid. It just didn’t seem to be working.

The Blues went off the boil generally and then came the interview.

Only at Chelsea could it have been such a big story. Because only at Chelsea would the manager’s position appear in danger.

After all, the Blues pride themselves on their modus operandi, pointing to a stash of trophies built on the bodies of former bosses.

Gossip columns and rumour mills ran wild.

Tuchel, who had hardly put a foot wrong and turned a failing team into European champions in half a season, suddenly found himself under pressure.

At the height of the storm, he was seventh favourite for the Sack Race.

It didn’t seem far-fetched that this might be a ploy by Lukaku to get rid of Tuchel.

Others thought he might even be trying to engineer a move to reunite with Conte, now at Spurs.

Even a swap with Kane was mentioned!

But Tuchel was sure-footed in his response. After consulting with senior players, he dropped him.

It was unfortunate for Chelsea that it was a vital game against Liverpool, but it had to be done.

It was the smack of firm government, measured and reasserted his authority.

And he clearly had the dressing room and fans with him.

Game, set and match to Tuchel.

But on the evidence of the Carabao Cup win over Spurs, he’s no nearer to solving the puzzle that is getting the best out of the Belgian.

After an apology and restoration to the side, Lukaku looked rusty and fluffed the chances that came his way.

And this with some concessions by Tuchel in terms of Kai Havertz playing alongside him and a more direct approach.

Fortunately for all in blue, Spurs’ slapstick defending in the first half ensured a comfortable Chelsea victory with the game itself a bit of a damp squib.

It took the pressure off but the story is not over.

If Lukaku continues to struggle for goals, the pressure will build again and Chelsea won’t want to write off an almost £100m asset.

The news that City tried to buy him from Inter the previous season is a surprise, but there’s no way Chelsea would sell to their main rival.

Manchester United had him before and he wasn’t a raging success there either.

As for swapping with Kane? The England skipper wanted to leave for City but going to hated rivals Chelsea would ruin his legacy at Spurs.

And a loan deal would have no takers on those wages.

It boils down to Tuchel finding a system to make it work. Like his predecessors, he needs to win trophies to prolong his future.

At the moment, the club hierarchy are with him, but he needs more than the Carabao Cup to still be there next season.

History tells us that at Chelsea superstar players tend to outlast the manager.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.