Romelu puts howler behind him

EAGERNESS was engulfing Romelu Lukaku. Manchester United were being swept aside by Real Madrid and two chances to give his side hope had been wasted by the £75million striker. The first, after 35 minutes of poor service, saw Lukaku pounce after Ander Herrera had picked the pocket of Toni Kroos. United were through on goal but Lukaku was five yards offside. He stole the ball from an enraged Herrera and the assistant’s flag went up. The second blunder was even more galling from a striker’s perspective and it came after Real Madrid had gone 2-0 up. Paul Pogba’s header was parried into Lukaku’s path, just yards out, but he snatched at the opportunity. His effort sailed wide and the Belgian held his head. Just minutes after that staggering miss, Lukaku followed in another shot again and this time he stroked the ball past Real keeper Keylor Navas. Jose Mourinho will be encouraged by that refusal to shirk responsibility. And supporters who committed to the 3,500-mile round trip will have noticed, too. The late-night stragglers of Monday, those fans who found themselves along the River Vardar well into Tuesday, had sung his name proudly. Mourinho certainly viewed signing him as a priority, a genuine goalscorer to fill the void left by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Text messages went back and forth, then phone calls while pounding the streets of New York. Lukaku was the one United wanted and he was the one they got. Chelsea flirted with Lukaku to no effect. United’s persistence paid off and now they and he will be judged. But last night was tough. Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos are an imposing pair and Lukaku struggled to keep possession. He had the fewest touches of any player in a first half dominated by Real. The ball did not stick. But there were moments, little glimmers. A quick lay-off here, a little dart there. A header, when he finally escaped Ramos, to trouble Navas. Then the goal, a real show of character after what had gone before.