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As many of you know (and to the disappointment of all Manchester United fans), United were beaten 2-1 at home by their local rivals Manchester City on Sunday.
From the start of the game, United sat back and soaked up intense amounts of pressure from City, perhaps hoping to snatch chances to hit them on the counter. Although this plan meant that United barely held the ball in the first half, it did work. Only through a corner did City finally snatch their first goal in the 43rd minute.
Lukaku's contribution (or lack thereof)
First and most importantly, Lukaku's performance on the day was poor, to say the least. He was barely involved in any build-up play, he didn't win any aerial duels and had only one shot on target.
Amazingly, these are the better parts of his woes on the day.
Lukaku basically assisted both of Manchester City's goals. In the 43rd minute, City were given a corner. As De Bruyne whipped it in high and on target, the ball ricocheted comfortably against his torso, and landed flat for a willing David Silva to slot in from close range.
With the second goal in the 54th minute, a shambolic clearance by Lukaku saw the ball bounce against the back of Marcos Rojo and drop in the box to Nicolas Otamendi, who finished with aplomb.
Twitter tears into his performance
Twitter did as Twitter always does, criticise with wit and passion. Without further ado, here are the best of the bunch:
Author's take
Yes, Lukaku was bad and yes, to an extent, he does deserve the criticism he is getting. He seems to have lost that tenaciousness and killer instinct he brought in droves at the beginning of the season.
They say that form is temporary, but class is permanent. Who knows, he just might be going through a rough patch, the recovery from which, will definitely shut his detractors up.
Either way, City now have an 11-point lead at the top and look to be cruising to the league title, and could well hoist the Premier League trophy, come the end of the season.
