The striker has come in for some criticism for not delivering in big games this season.
What’s eating Romelu Lukaku?. After a goal-laden honeymoon period with Manchester United after his big-money move from Everton in the summer, the Belgian isn’t, to use Jose Mourinho’s terminology, in a happy moment.
Lukaku has gotten over his first barren spell as a United player. His goal against Newcastle in November came after a seven-game scoreless run. He then failed to find the net in the following four games. But, since then, he has three goals in four appearances, including a couple of headers in the last week against Bournemouth and West Brom.
However, the Belgium international’s celebrations for both of those goals were deliberately muted. Fair enough, he used to play for the Baggies, but to hang his head after finding the net at Old Trafford against the Cherries tells you a lot about his current mentality.
The reason for Lukaku’s disconsolate disposition may be a direct result of his disastrous display against Manchester City. When United spent €90million on him, the club expected him to be a major factor in the biggest games. However, Lukaku’s displays against the other members of the big six have drawn widespread criticism, even from some sections of his own fanbase.
In his four years at Everton, Lukaku’s record against the big six was 13 goals in 49 matches. Nothing spectacular, but the Toffees were often on the back-foot in clashes with United, City and Chelsea. At United, Lukaku was expected to blossom into one of Europe’s most devastating finishers by spearheading the Red Devils’ attack in ‘big games.’
It was the perfect opportunity for him to shatter the public perception of him as a ‘flat-track bully.’ Or so it seemed.
Now that we’re basically at the halfway mark in the Premier League season, it’s an appropriate time to reflect on Lukaku’s first few months in red. United have played all five of the other big six members. It hasn’t been pretty for Lukaku, who has failed to score in those five games.
But is he entirely to blame? Or is he being starved of quality service, the kind of service so readily available to former United frontmen like Andy Cole and Ruud van Nistelrooy when they were getting on the end of crosses from David Beckham or Ryan Giggs. Beyond that, has Lukaku’s progress been curtailed by Mourinho’s tactics in matches against the top six?
Influence in the final third
Lukaku earns his keep in the penalty area. All 15 of his goals this season have been inside the box. That’s no great surprise considering he is, by trade, an out-and-out striker.
However, against Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City, Lukaku was wholly ineffective in that area. There have been bad moments, for sure, including his point-blank miss against City when he blasted the ball straight at Ederson and spurned a similarly gilt-edged opportunity against Liverpool, but how much has Lukaku been helped by his team-mates and manager?
In the goalless draw at Anfield, Lukaku’s best chance to score came after some fine one-touch passing between the forward and Anthony Martial. From 15 yards, he failed to really trouble Simon Mignolet. The replays showed that Lukaku should have done better with his effort, but it was too close to his compatriot.
That was Lukaku’s only opening against Liverpool but, in truth, United were shambolic in their attempts at getting up the pitch. Mourinho’s tactics meant United sat deep and absorbed the home side’s pressure, meaning they had just 37% possession.
However, when United did have the ball, they were poor. They only had 354 passes to Liverpool’s 580 – and only 75% accuracy with those passes.
United also attempted 69 long balls compared to Liverpool’s 34, illustrating how Mourinho’s side resorted to clearing their lines as opposed to carefully constructing attacks to hurt Liverpool. Lukaku may have height and power but a long-ball game does not suit him. He is more adept at running in behind and positioning himself in the box when United have the ball in advanced areas, either centrally or out wide.
The reality is that Lukaku was isolated by Mourinho’s cautious tactics. In the games against the other top six sides, United have averaged just 37.8% possession. It’s been frustrating for fans, especially considering the overwhelming evidence of what they can do to teams when they attack (they’ve scored four goals in a match eight times already this season).
Therefore, Lukaku’s influence in big games has been minimalised due to the type of football United have been playing under Mourinho.
For instance, against Liverpool, Mignolet had 28 touches in the game to Lukaku’s 22. Anthony Martial,
- Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ashley Young – playing behind Lukaku in a 4-2-3-1 formation – only managed two key passes between them.
- In contrast, Liverpool’s attacking trident of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho managed eight.
It’s interesting that Lukaku must have felt as though he would have been playing in a more attack-minded side against the bigger teams compared to when he was at Everton. After the stalemate at Anfield, he said the following:
“Sometimes it is difficult as well when you play against the top teams and you play not to win and don’t really create chances. It is really difficult. Now I am in a team where we want to win against the big teams and we want to win every game, so I think the situation will change.”
The way the games have panned out since then must have been a shock to his system.
The flip side to that is that Lukaku was wasteful or ineffective with the little possession he did have, completing just 63% of his passes against Liverpool. But his impact was negligible because United sat deep and failed to consistently trouble Liverpool in the final third. Within such a tactical framework, it’s difficult for Lukaku to shine.
The defeat to Chelsea was worse. The most startling statistic from the game was that Lukaku failed to record a single touch inside Chelsea’s penalty area.
#Lukaku :Not one touch in Chelsea’s pen area yesterday…. give me Morata all day long pic.twitter.com/9Kidx6vFlh
— David Burton ⭐️⭐️ (@DavidBurton1971) November 6, 2017
The dominant subplot ahead of the game was that both Lukaku and Alvaro Morata had gone six games without a goal. The Spaniard, who had been linked with United in the summer before Lukaku joined (while Lukaku had been linked with Chelsea before choosing United), flourished thanks to Chelsea’s attacking football – and scored the winning goal.
Yet, while Morata enjoyed excellent service from Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard and Cesar Azpilicueta, who set up the Spaniard’s goal, Lukaku was utterly anonymous.
The look of frustration etched on Lukaku’s face for much of the 90 minutes said it all. While Morata combined menacingly with Fabregas and Hazard, Mkhitaryan failed to produce.
The Armenian, bought for his creativity, failed to create a single chance for Lukaku at Stamford Bridge. He was subbed after 62 minutes and has played just 19 minutes in the nine games since, his spectacularly sudden fall from grace leading many to believe that his days at United are numbered.
Because United’s build-up play was so poor, Lukaku dropped deep looking for the ball. He ran into corners, he chased shadows. Alas, a chance never came his way inside the box.
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer, who knows a little something about effective forward play, was spot on in his assessment of the former Chelsea striker’s performance.
“Let the people create the chances for you. He’s a goalscorer, and he’s getting judged on scoring goals.”
Unfortunately, Lukaku has missed United’s finest creator – Paul Pogba – in four out of the five ‘big six’ games this season. The Frenchman was injured for the Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea games and, while he played against Arsenal, he was suspended for the Manchester derby. In the win over Arsenal, Pogba notched two assists before being sent off. Neither of them were for Lukaku – who didn’t score – but it was an illustration of the impact he makes when he plays.
Pogba has five assists this season but only one of them have been for Lukaku, in the Champions League win over CSKA Moscow. However, that can be misleading. Pogba averages more passes and touches than any other United player. With him in midfield, United are a more potent, imaginative attacking force. When he has been absent, Lukaku has suffered.
Lukaku must take some of the blame
While Mkhitaryan’s form and Pogba’s absence have been factors, Lukaku’s performances have been far from accomplished. The Manchester derby was a crushing nadir, flopping when United needed him the most. Not only was he culpable for both of City’s goals, he missed a golden chance to draw the score level at 2-2. A point apiece would have prevented City’s confetti-throwing celebrations and the whole tunnel fracas that followed.
Stats are always useful numerical indicators but Lukaku’s expression of hollow indignation required no further analysis. Effectively handing City three points was unquestionably the low-point of Lukaku’s brief period as a United player, but he has recovered with two goals in the two games since.
While that shows resilience, both goals have been followed by an unmistakably glum non-celebration. We can only speculate that it’s because of the criticism that has come his way but, if you’re a Manchester United striker, it’s always a good idea to celebrate when you score a goal. It won’t do him any favours long-term to wallow around in a strop. Now that the worst (the City match) is over, he must rise above the sulk and continue to do what he does best: score goals.
Crucially, though, it will help Lukaku if Mourinho allows United to be more expressive and enterprising against the top sides. With Pogba, Martial and Rashford in full-flight, United have the weaponry to hurt anyone. While Lukaku needs to be more clinical when presented with his chances against the top six sides, it will be interesting to see how he reacts if Mourinho looks to ‘park the bus’ in the second-half of the season.
With an 11-point gap to narrow on City at the top, you would like to think that the United boss will adopt a more ambitious approach, but that remains to be seen.
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