3 current problems that Manchester United need to solve

#3 Romelu Lukaku isolation

Romelu Lukaku simply cannot do it all on his own

While the Belgian international might have struggled recently at Manchester United, he is quickly becoming a fan’s favourite after showing passion, desire and humility since the turn of the year.

Lukaku has been a breath of fresh air in his recent performances, especially against Chelsea and Liverpool, where he was instrumental in both wins. The former Everton centre-forward has never shied away from his duties and took part-responsibility for the loss to Sevilla in the midweek European game.

However, the Belgian should bare no criticism for the way he has been playing. If you watch closely, and over the course of 90 minutes, you will see a striker who is constantly running into channels, demanding the ball, only to see it passed sideways or sent elsewhere. Lukaku will chase after everything, but he is finding himself incredibly isolated up front.

At times this season, United’s centre-backs have picked the easy option of lumping the ball up into the space that Lukaku occupies. Not always directly to him, the ball ends up in his vicinity and he is expected to work some magic to build an attack from it. He has done that on occasions, but there is no chance that a centre-forward can consistently do it over the course of the game.

When the Belgian receives the ball, there is rarely any players making runs in-behind defences, stretching the opposition and creating space. Instead, they remain in line with Lukaku and remain reluctant to bombard forward.

For all of his excellence this season - 24 goals and eight assists in 43 appearances – Lukaku simply cannot do it on his own. He needs help and he needs his teammates to take responsibility and emulate the selflessness that the Belgian shows them.