Wasting half a dozen chances in the World Cup and becoming the culprit of Belgium's group stage. Returning to Inter from Chelsea, he suffered a 250-day league goal drought. However, entering the sprint stage of the season, Lukaku suddenly came back to life.
He has contributed 5 goals and 4 assists from the bench in the last 6 starts, averaging 1 goal and 1 assist in the last 3 Serie A games. Even Jose Mourinho's Roma can't stop him from scoring, and the Champions League semi-final Milan derby will be his chance to make a difference?
01. Romelu Lukaku, who ended the World Cup due to injury: he is a good guy
a. World Cup Folding Group Stage: Should he really carry this pot?
When it comes to Romelu Lukaku's season, many people think of injuries, goal droughts and World Cup group stage exits.
However, in the World Cup, Lukaku, who was plagued by injury, was not at his best, and even without him, Belgium also had a weak striker problem.
Before Romelu Lukaku came on, it was difficult for Belgium to threaten the opposing goal. However, after Romelu Lukaku came on, there were opportunities, but he really couldn't take it.
This time Carrasco stormed the box to create chaos, and Romelu Lukaku followed up with a half-shot that actually hit the post and popped up.
Looking at the attack again, Eden Hazard Junior found Romelu Lukaku in a cross from the right, which was an inevitable opportunity in front of goal.
Unfortunately, the latter was too slow to move and watched his opponent complete the key solution and failed to kick the ball.
However, when Romelu Lukaku is in the Belgian penalty area, he always creates some confusion and gets shots on goal.
This is the case in football, when teams fail to create opportunities, it seems that the coach is the most responsible. But when a player repeatedly gets a chance but can't take it, the responsibility comes to him.
B. Romelu Lukaku: He's a good guy
Romelu Lukaku's position in Belgium not only brings chances up front, but also stabilizes the dressing room. As the "glue" of the team, he is probably the only one who can talk and laugh with Hazard and De Bruyne at the same time.
Even before the Belgian match, it was Romelu Lukaku who took the lead in inspiring the team. However, as you can see from the camera, De Bruyne's hand is the only one who is not with his teammates.
Because of his ex-girlfriend, De Bruyne is on par with Courtois, and falls out with Vertonghen and Hazard, as the core of the team, De Bruyne is really "high and low" in Belgium.
Not just in the national team, Romelu Lukaku is quite popular in many places. Odogeu, a player who plays in the Italian Serie C, was plagued by a deep injury. In 2021, he contacted Stallini, who was then Inter's assistant coach, through his agent, and then received sneakers and shirts from Romelu Lukaku.
He played for Serie B club South Tylore this season and is the team's top scorer. He chose the same number 90 shirt as Romelu Lukaku and wore the sneakers sent by Romelu Lukaku, which is expected to help the team to be promoted to Serie A (fourth in the league and will definitely reach the promotion play-offs).
Heading into the spring of 2023, Romelu Lukaku, who is gradually recovering from injury, is also finding his form. From August 2022 to April 2023, he experienced a 250-day Serie A goal drought.
Fortunately, in the past three rounds of Serie A, he has scored 3 goals and 3 assists, and Lukaku, who averaged a passing per game, has once again become a decisive existence.
02. The speed is slowing down, and the ability to do the ball is improving
Romelu Lukaku used to fit Inter's two-striker system
Inter brought Romelu Lukaku back on loan from Chelsea because he fit well with the team's two-striker system in the past. On the one hand, it has a good ability to hold the ball, and at the same time, it can make the ball and pull the side to pass the ball.
Romelu Lukaku used to be quite fast with the ball and could bring opportunities to counter-attack. Fans once joked: Inter striker high-speed combination, the tall is 1.74 meters Lautaro, the fastest is 1.91 meters Lukaku.
Although the decline in physical condition is very obvious, the speed and turning are much slower. However, Lukaku has made a big improvement in the central forward position.
This time back to Brozovic, it was still quite amazing, but it was a pity that the teammate missed.
Looking at this wave of attack, when Bastoni suddenly completed the man's ball and accelerated forward, Lukaku made the ball with his back to Correa, who inserted in the middle, and let his teammate complete the shot from the front of the box.
However, it should be noted that Lukaku's regression in terms of speed of turning and forward thrust is very obvious. He lost his former "fast" attribute and it was difficult to participate in the attack twice.
b. Offensive participation is declining
Romelu Lukaku has played a total of 26 games for Inter in Serie A and the Champions League this season, scoring nine goals from 45 shots, while making 30 key passes and bringing back five assists.
It has to be said that the frequency of his current involvement in the attack and the number of shots completed on goal have declined significantly. Disjointed pace is Romelu Lukaku's biggest problem at the moment.
It is precisely the sharp decline in physical form that has forced Romelu Lukaku to make changes in certain attacking options. He lost the ability to advance quickly, which was the biggest impact.
After all, the former Lukaku was known for his fast dribbling and crushing advances. This time in the face of Lautaro's wonderful pass, he did not even dare to continue dribbling, opting to shoot directly from distance outside the box.
Fortunately the goal was scored, and fortunately Romelu Lukaku's recent shot felt good. In fact, he only got 1 shot in this game.
If he takes a few extra steps, Romelu Lukaku may be a little lacking in himself, or he may really not be able to complete the action of shooting power.
03. Total physical degradation: less than 30 years old into the twilight of his career
a. Passing people can't rely on speed: Romelu Lukaku needs to adjust his movements
From the statistics, it can be seen that in the past 30 years, in the ranking of the fastest players in the five major leagues to complete 250 career goals, Lukaku beat Cristiano Ronaldo in sixth place.
But after that, his decline was more pronounced. With his 30th birthday approaching next week, Romelu Lukaku appears to be entering the twilight of his career.
This time Romelu Lukaku took the ball and turned to accelerate, trying to break through the opposing defense with the most common crushing method in the past. However, Christante quickly got in place before him, and Romelu Lukaku, who lost his speed, knocked over his opponent with strength and was whistled for a foul.
Looking at the attack this time, it is not easy to expect Romelu Lukaku to get the first point of the header. However, when he has the ball at his feet, it is difficult for the opponent to break the ball.
But at this time, Lukaku is really a little slow under his feet. Ibáñez's grappling and breaking the ball is not a surprise this season.
b. Cover teammates? In fact, it really can't catch up
Romelu Lukaku has averaged only 0.9 one-on-one wins per game this season, and his success rate has fallen to an unacceptable 30%.
In desperation, he even began to compete for the high ground more. After all, the height of 1.91 meters plus weight can still occupy some advantages. It's certainly not a job Lukaku loves, but he doesn't have many options either.
Inter's first goal against Roma, Dumfries' cross, may have been looking for Rome. Helplessly, his speed was too slow, and he couldn't catch up with the point, but it was like covering Di Marco in the back.
Dumfries' pass was still of high quality this time, and Romelu Lukaku could have scored easily if he had been a little faster.
It is no surprise that the number of shots he completes is decreasing. Once the team's attack is in rhythm, Lukaku is prone to missed points.
Fortunately, left-winger Di Marco has burst into form and can suppress Gosens to hold the main team, and not just because the latter has too many injuries. With goals and assists, he and Archerby have been Inter's biggest surprise this season.
Conclusion:
What followed was the Champions League semi-final Milan derby, and Inter's advantage seemed to have grown even greater after Leo was injured. Can Romelu Lukaku still show his might in front of the AC Milan defence in the same way as he humiliated Romagnoli and Kjaer?
With his current physical state, I'm afraid this is difficult. However, Romelu Lukaku's current good shooting feel and passing value still make him the one who will determine the derby victory.