Daily Mirror

FOXES DOWN ON THEIR LUK

Big Rom’s double wrecks Leicester’s Champions League last-eight dress rehearsal in stunning Goodison goal-fest

- BY DAVID MADDOCK

A WALLOPING at Goodison hardly seems the best dress rehearsal for the biggest game of your life.

Yet as Leicester now focus on their fairytale visit to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarterfin­als and another potential date with the history books, they were at least given an insight into the sort of quality they will face at that rarified European level.

Romelu Lukaku’s two fine goals took his season’s tally for club and country to 30, and ensured he scored for the eighth consecutiv­e time on his home ground – a feat not achieved here since big Fred Pickering went on the rampage in 1965.

He also reinforced his grip on the Premier League’s Golden Boot, taking his domestic tally to 23, and no doubt increasing again the price he will command in the summer as top clubs scramble to secure his services.

The Belgian showed he is more than an adequate understudy for Atletico’s Antoine Griezmann, who will do well on Wednesday to match this impressive display of pace, power and aerial ability that ultimately proved the difference here.

Everton have scored more goals in 2017 than they did in 2016, and four more here took their total in the last seven league matches to a mind-boggling 26. It is their best winning run at home in the Premier League era.

Lukaku has 12 of those, and it is not hard to see why he will be the summer’s hottest transfer property. In fact, should Griezmann move as expected at the end of the season, don’t be too surprised to see him at the Vicente Calderon.

He would fit into the highest levels of La Liga. His finish from Ross Barkley’s sublime cross to level at 2-2 after 23 minutes was a case in point – that rare beauty these days of the perfect header. Yet he is much more than that. As visiting boss Craig Shakespear­e conceded later, his side’s six-game winning run came to an end in part because of the five changes he made with an eye to Wednesday, but also because of “Everton’s potent attacking threat”.

That was evident within 30 seconds in fact, a mad opening that set the tone as Kevin Mirallas produced a stunning piece of skill to skin Yohan Benalouane before being fouled. But Tom Davies was quick enough to seize on the ball and finish at the near post. You feared for Leicester then, without their injured skipper Wes Morgan, but they were in the lead before 10 minutes were up. The impressive Demarai Gray ran hard from his own half to give Islam Slimani a perfect assist. Then when Matthew Pennington fouled Jamie Vardy, Marc Albrighton’s free-kick deceived Everton keeper Joel Robles and floated over him into the roof of the net. The home side were undone by their enforced changes at the back, with Pennington and fellow youngster Mason Holgate struggling.

But it was Leicester’s disarray in the absence of three first-choice defenders that proved significan­t.

Lukaku levelled on 23 minutes, and then just before the break, skipper Phil Jagielka rose to glance home Mirallas’ corner, before repeating the trick after the break to put the ball at the feet of Lukaku.

He doesn’t often miss those... strikers at that level don’t.

It is perhaps the most important lesson Leicester learned before their date with destiny in Madrid.

 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom