"You spend £100 million on a player to make a difference in these games."
Jamie Carragher didn't pull any punches when reflecting on Romelu Lukaku's lack of game time in Chelsea's 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at Stanford Bridge. Carragher and fellow pundit Micah Richards disagreed about the Chelsea striker on CBS Sports' Champions League coverage.
Lukaku came off the bench in the 64th minute of the Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday but missed a glorious-headed opportunity to narrow the two-goal margin ahead of next week's second leg in Madrid.
The Belgian striker, unfortunately, did little to increase his chances of starting in the return leg, as his difficult campaign continues.
Jamie Carragher slams Romelu Lukaku.
After his summer move from Inter Milan, Lukaku has scored only five goals in 20 Premier League appearances.
On CBS' coverage, Richards spoke about the Belgian's lack of minutes and attempted to give the player the benefit of the doubt. But Carragher felt the £100m striker hasn't lived up to expectation.
The former Liverpool defender said there is always a "but" when it comes to Lukaku's goalscoring form.
Carragher made the argument that the Chelsea striker has always struggled to score goals against the bigger clubs in the Premier League.
"It's down to Lukaku. It's not about the love from a manager. You spend £100 million on a player to make a difference in these games, and he can't even get in the team," Carragher said on CBS Sports.
"His goal record is fantastic if you look at his numbers. But I always feel whenever we've spoken about Lukaku, he gets a lot of goals but there's always been a 'but.'
"Even his record in the Premier League, if you look at the teams, it was never against the biggest teams."
Carragher compares Lukaku to the European elite.
Carragher also said that Lukaku, who is contracted until 2026, has "always been a bit below" the level of a European elite striker.
"He's a very good player, but when you're talking about (Karim) Benzema, when you're talking about Harry Kane, when you're talking about (Robert) Lewandowski, for me he's just always been a bit below that," Carragher added.
"I don't question the manager at all in that situation. This thing about needing love... just go and play well."
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