[Adam-Utd]

I don't know if maybe the nerves aren't getting to him as much, or maybe he's been working on his fitness.

He wouldn't have had the energy left to make that lung bursting run at the end usually. Maybe he really was carrying an injury but his pace seems back to normal too, couldn't believe how he blitzed passed Rudiger and the others.

 

[Escobar]

I said it in the match day thread, use him properly and to his strengths (with a working team behind him) and he'll score and perform

 

[caid]

That's what I liked the most about this game, we didn't try to use him as a target man, he just played his game.

Yep, target man has never looked a comfortable fit for him.
Having said that, he did well when the ball was fired up to him today.
Its a bit of a weird one. Stick him in the opposition box and he becomes pretty damn good in the air.
I guess they're fairly different skills.

He still has blind spots to his game but he seems to be gradually improving a lot of them over the course of the season.
And the areas hes strong, hes very, very strong. There's potential for a top tier player there.
A pretty reliable goalscorer is nothing to sniff at if that doesn't happen.

 

[haram]

Part at the end where he spins Rudiger and bursts into Chelsea's half was great.

 

[Kostov]

Just saw the post game interview with him, Romelu seems like a very smart and down to earth guy, much more than he's been given credit for anyway.

 

[charlenefan]

Key to nullifying Lukaku seems to be to not give him an inch early on, once he gains the confidence he has the beating of a defence he's very hard to stop

His Sevilla performance was horrible but today and the Huddersfield game gives me hope he may be hitting form again and might end the season the way he started it

 

[redom]

I don't know if maybe the nerves aren't getting to him as much, or maybe he's been working on his fitness.

He wouldn't have had the energy left to make that lung bursting run at the end usually. Maybe he really was carrying an injury but his pace seems back to normal too, couldn't believe how he blitzed passed Rudiger and the others.

Maybe the workload was spread more with the formation we played. I liked that he was able to drift wide more often too, he's better at receiving the ball in the channels than he is with his back to goal holding it up and having a partner meant there was less emphasis on him being the central figure the whole time so there was a decent amount of rotation between himself, Martial and Sanchez in the wider areas which obviously led to his assist.

 

[Dembeza]

We need a gif for that one.

Anyone got a gif of his acrobatic effort?



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[Dembeza]

 

[Ban]

What is good about him is he's working hard every game, it's obvious he wants to shine, wants to get better, mentality is great and he's grabbing the opportunity he got being in such a big club.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

He was so bad before the goal. Like it was comical how bad he was.

But then he scored and it lifted him. His contributions won us the game and his effort was immense. Amazing what confidence can do.

No complaints.

 

[Kraftwerker]



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Actually unlucky not to score.

On another day it goes through the defender’s legs and finds the bottom corner with an unsighted keeper.

He’s done it before.

 

[Carolina Red]

That run he made at the end... the guy has speed to burn and one hell of a gas tank.

I think playing with a partner up top definitely helped him. I hope to see more of that in the future.

 

[montpelier]

nice analysis from Shearer on MOTD 2

 

[Bobski]

Fantastic performance, didn't think he was capable of that, thrilled to be proven wrong. Won us the game by himself.

 

[Trophy Room]

Best game for United in my opinion. Unplayable at times.

 

[Acole9]

He was excellent today. On the way to knocking the flat track bully nonsense on the head. He was well up for it today, that first goal the build up play Sanchez to Martial into Lukaku was quality. If Barcelona, City or Arsenal scored a goal like that everyone would be going nuts.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

nice analysis from Shearer on MOTD 2

Yup. Waxing lyrical about his brilliant first touch before the goal

 

[Charlie Foley]

I know we aren't supposed to be singing about his piece but he's showed massive stones lately.

 

[mancan92]

His best game for us probably in a big game.

Hope it continues

 

[eggwithsideburns]

I really like him and want him to do well, his attitude is very good and at times he can look unstoppable but then can also look poor and clumsy. He is determined though and you can't complain with what he has given us so far this season. I don't think we help him with how in the big games we play more defensively and he is then more isolated, its hard for anyone to hold the ball up or bring others into play when you are surrounded by the opposite teams defence and you don't have much support.

 

[shabadu84]

Just saw the post game interview with him, Romelu seems like a very smart and down to earth guy, much more than he's been given credit for anyway.

He gets typecast as this oafish brute with no technique or brains by the same people who complain when he doesn't excel at being the target man if we lump it forward. He's much better with someone to help keep the CBs busy and we need to give him more service besides crosses to the backpost. Let him run the channels sometimes, use his strength against fullbacks. We've seenhim put in good crosses and passes from wide, no need to restrict the guy

 

[noodlehair]



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I really wanted him to take a shot on when he knocked it ahead of himself, rather than taking another touch. He basically played a through ball in behind the entire Chelsea defence, except to himself

I know he looks unpolished at times, or has games or spells in games where he looks like Emile Heskey, but he does stuff like this so often where he not only looks the most likely to score for us but also looks the most likely to create the chance a the first place.

 

[Ronaldo's Mum Eh?]

He finally came through.

He needs to do this regularly though.

 

[pocco]

I've been massively critical of the guy since his Everton days, but I've tried to get behind him and today you could almost see how he can be a big influence on the team going forward.

The key for getting the most out of him is to get him playing towards goals. This is obvious at this point. The only issue is creating those situations for him. Jose needs to figure it out, because he too often plays with his back to goal receiving ridiculous high balls, and is useless.

For once I actually thought that that his aggression and mentality matched his stature too. Too often he's easily nullified and bullied, despite being bigger then the CB. I think there were clear instructions at half time from Mourinho to back into Rudiger when ball ball is coming into him. In the first half he was being nudged off the ball when moving towards it by Rudiger, but in the second he used his frame and his weight to properly shield the ball.

I think there were hopefully some lessons learnt from Lukaku today that he can take forward now and learn to apply to the best of his ability.

 

[Ram1fy]

I feel like today is a turning point in his career. Also, he always explodes towards the end of the season.

 

[Jim Beam]

He’s been useless but scored

Michael Owen likes this.

 

[Krits]

I was critical of him at half time. I thought because of his loose touch we were unable to bring the ball out of our own half. I still think he needs to be more consistent with that aspect. But in saying that, what a second half. He was worlds apart from his first half self. Assured, physical and most importantly, deadly. Lets hope this is how he turns up in the rest of the season we really need him to be a talisman for our team upfront. None of the other players in our team are capable of leading from the front.

 

[RedCurry]

I really wanted him to take a shot on when he knocked it ahead of himself, rather than taking another touch.

I think if we weren’t winning the game, he would have taken the early shot. But if he took a shot and Courtois gathered the ball, they would’ve been on a counter right away. He took the low risk option of waiting for Chelsea to fall back and smack the ball. It was always either going to end up in a goal or a throw/corner for us. He’s pragmatic like his manager.

 

[Sylar]

8 more goals to the 30 mark.
I liked his assist more than the goal just because its rare to see a quality cross from our players.

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

His best game of football in a United shirt.

 

[Georgan]

nice analysis from Shearer on MOTD 2

What did he say?

 

[Ashley R1+O]

Absolutely superb. His goal was magnificent and his play for the second was superb. I am loving watching him grow at this club, hopefully he continues on his meteoric rise. What a first season he's had.

 

[roonster09]

The way he moves with the ball is very one-footed, compare it to someone like Aguero, Suarez, Lewa or Kane.. even though they're all right footed, they keep top level defenders guessing for the most part as they can go either way with ease when running and there isn't any hesitancy. You can bring up stats all you like but there is a hesitancy there with Lukaku.

Its not like he's got a weak right foot, or he can't use it.. its that he is not willing to use it at will, he is reluctant to do so. That split second hesitation makes him more predictable.

Sorry for quoting this post from November, I just remembered it as I always disagreed with this post and thought it was completely wrong. (I read most of your posts for the way you describe even though I disagree with your points on few players. We are agreeing lot now though).

Today was perfect example of Lukaku using his weaker foot to put him in better position and gain advantage with his weaker foot. His first touch with right foot made sure the ball was placed perfectly for him to slot it with his left foot and also gave no chance for Alonso to nick it.

For assist, his touch with the right foot beat 2 Chelsea players before whipping in superb cross.

 

[Antonedwin]

His first touch let him down for some occasion and got criticized for it but we don't buy a bull and expect him to play like panther

his main attribute is fast and strong, once he gets in the front foot, no defender would be able to either outpaced or outmuscled him, we have to play through his strength more often . 22 goals and 7 assist so far for someone whom people thought is never going to be United standard

 

[meamth]

Sometimes a simple stepover can take 3 man away from you. Lukaku was clever!

Surely his pace should be above 90 in Fifa now. Unplayable last night.

 

[Raees]

Sorry for quoting this post from November, I just remembered it as I always disagreed with this post and thought it was completely wrong. (I read most of your posts for the way you describe even though I disagree with your points on few players. We are agreeing lot now though).

Today was perfect example of Lukaku using his weaker foot to put him in better position and gain advantage with his weaker foot. His first touch with right foot made sure the ball was placed perfectly for him to slot it with his left foot and also gave no chance for Alonso to nick it.

For assist, his touch with the right foot beat 2 Chelsea players before whipping in superb cross.

For me like I said, it's not like he hasn't got a right foot.. I have seen him score some good goals with it and I think I have seen him even cross with it - it's more the reluctance to use it consistently. If he does reach that stage where he's effortlessly shifting onto either foot for shoots or like you said first touches then he's much more likely to become that elite striker we all want him to be.

 

[montpelier]

What did he say?

I think it was something like..

very complimentary about performance yesterday - but we need to see it more often, he hasn't been terrible but..

picked up how he was showing for McTom & McTom was finding him a couple of times - exactly the service that hasn't been happening but that a Centre forward needs to have - there can be a fault on both sides of the deal on that though

RL blended skills & power very well, if he could do more like the late run what a lift it is for the team & so on

 

[Bobcat]

I've been on his back a bit, but fair fecking play to him, he really stepped up when we needed him too.

 

[meamth]

Is there other big players with pace like him?