Romelu Lukaku Stepping It Up When Manchester United Need Him The Most

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Manchester United have been dealing with a plethora of injuries over the last few weeks. Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Alexis Sanchez and Marcus Rashford have all been dealing with ailments of late so it’s not a secret that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have been shorthanded when it comes to the attacking depth. However, one player has been stepping it up of late for The Red Devils. One player the team had been waiting for him to breakout for quite a while. He goes by the name of Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian international haven’t had many chances to start since Solskjaer’s arrival, and for good reason. He began the Norwegian’s tenure injured, and didn’t receive many opportunities since the trio of Rashford, Martial and Lingard was working beautifully. But since all three have suffered injuries of late, Lukaku eventually got his chance. And there’s no question that he has taken advantage of the opportunity.

The former Everton and West Bromwich goalscoring machine got the start for the midweek trip to Selhurst Park, and scored a brace against Crystal Palace. His first goal was a thing of beauty, as he coolly controlled the ball and, roughly one second later, he placed it into the far post and out of Vicente Guaita’s reach:

But there was more. His second goal against The Eagles really showed the kind of force he can be inside the box. Following a rebound, Lukaku used his body to protect the ball, left a defender out of the play and, from a tight angle, blasted his shot past the keeper and into the back of the net.

Lukaku’s performance against Palace earned him another start – on Saturday against Southampton – and once again played a pivotal role on the team’s 3-2 win. The Belgian netted two goals in the second half, and lifted The Red Devils to a huge win in more-than-complicated encounter.

Can he keep this up until the end of the season?

We must be honest. This two-goals-per-game ratio might not last for long. In fact, it’s unclear whether he will remain as a starter for the reminder of the season. Martial should return in a few weeks, so Solskjaer will have to find a way to give all of their star players enough playing time to keep them happy.

But one thing is certain. Solskjaer asked Lukaku and Sanchez to step it up due to the recent rash of injuries affecting the side. The Belgian has delivered and with four goals in his past two games, he’s clearly on the right track after struggling for much of the current campaign.

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