Tony fits the bill while Rom fits the Mil!
THE night after Anthony Martial showed his predatory instincts in the penalty box remain a work in progress, it was inevitable Romelu Lukaku would show his are finely honed for his new club.
While Martial’s misses in a United blitz just after half-time against Sevilla were just one reason the La Liga side booked their spot in tomorrow’s Europa League final, Lukaku simply added the gloss to a dominant Inter Milan display, scoring the final two goals in a 5-0 win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Belgian’s late double took him to 33 for his first season in Milan and they were both brilliantly taken.
He will be looking to secure in an 11th successive Europa League game in tomorrow’s final and giving the gnashing of teeth that has come from some quarters about United’s decision to sell him a year ago, it might be for the best that he isn’t sizing up his former club in Cologne.
It’s the way of modern football that players can see the stock rise and fall in the time it takes to miss a chance. And having been one of United’s stars during the season restart, Martial came back down to earth when he failed to find the back of the net when his side were on top against Sevilla.
But there’s no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater here.
For a start, the debate over whether United were right to sell Lukaku is irrelevant because the striker wanted to leave Old Trafford and, let’s be honest, it’s a move that has been good for all parties.
Antonio Conte is almost the perfect manager to get the best out of him, building a system that gets the best out of the forward, and that’s been proven in Italy.
Lukaku has been unplayable at times. But had he stayed at United, in a side clearly not built to play to his strengths, then he wouldn’t be producing the same output now.
The substantial fee United got for Lukaku, in the region of £70m, also helped them to build a squad that does fit the profile for Solskjaer. Lukaku was not the ideal No. 9 for his United, the real debate is whether Martial is.
When talkSPORT pundit Jamie
O’Hara suggested Lukaku’s name as the type of striker that should lead the line for United on Tuesday morning, he sounded like somebody who hadn’t actually watched them play all season or seen the player’s struggles in his final season at Old Trafford.
Lukaku has 33 goals in 50 games for Inter Milan, but he failed to score in 14 of his final 17 games for United. That the three games he did score in came in the space of eight days and produced six goals only summed up the exasperation that he could cause at Old Trafford, going from blowing hot to cold quicker than a budget hotel hairdryer.
In his absence, Martial has been trusted to lead the line and he has grown into that role this season, scoring 23 times. A comparison between Lukaku and Martial would suggest there’s been little difference, either. Take penalties out of the equation and both have scored 17 league goals this season, only Lukaku has achieved that tally by playing 355 more minutes, the
Conte is almost the perfect manager to get the best out of Lukaku in a system suitable for him
Tyrone Marshall