Mourinho may remove Romelu Lukaku from Man Utd spotlight
The sight of Romelu Lukaku stood in the Old Trafford box arms spread as the net flutters in the background is usually of great comfort to Manchester United.
But twice against Manchester City the associated emotion for those of a red persuasion was dread.
Rather than performing his trademark goal celebration, Lukaku wore a worried expression having inadvertently undone his own team in a match of huge significance.
Romelu Lukaku played a part in his side conceding both goals against Manchester City
Jose Mourinho (left) might have to remove the Belgian from the spotlight for a while
His job is at the other end of the pitch but each City goal highlighted concerns about Lukaku that are growing as his scoring record extends into barren territory.
For the first Nicolas Otamendi bridged the three-inch gap in height with nothing more than determination to force the ball into David Silva’s path. Lukaku barely got off the ground.
That spoke to his seemingly dwindling reserves of confidence and was evident more than once closer to City’s goal when Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho won aerial duels.
For the second Lukaku attempted a clearance to make Sunday League footballers wince and while it was with his weaker right foot the technique employed left an awful lot to be desired.
His touch has been questioned before and in an offensive capacity against City there were examples when the opportunity for swift a counter was stymied by Lukaku’s control, or lack of.
United did not spend £75million on Lukaku for what he can do in his own box but the errors inevitably enhanced the scrutiny on his productivity in aspects that the club would expect a return.
The forward was isolated at Old Trafford but did not do enough when he had the ball
The Belgian striker finished the game without a goal for the 12th time in 14 games and while Ederson was praised for the double save that ensured City’s victory late it is also true that Lukaku could have denied the goalkeeper the chance by putting his finish somewhere other his face.
Lukaku has done nothing at United to refute allegations he is the most horizontal of flat-track bullies, failing to score against the traditional top-six for a fifth game this season.
His record now reads 15 goals in 62 games against City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham or United from his West Brom and Everton days.
By contrast Harry Kane has 16 in 31, Sergio Aguero has 35 in 52, and Jamie Vardy has 20 in 39, all far superior ratios.
Ederson saved from the striker late on but perhaps he should have directed his shot better
Lukaku has failed to score in 12 of his last 14 matches and his confidence appears to be low
Alexis Sanchez, however, has eight goals in 32 games, at a rate of one every 320 minutes, seven minutes worse than Lukaku. So there are shades to the debate.
Graeme Souness defended Lukaku in analysis on Sky Sports, arguing he was making do with a ‘no quality service’.
Gary Neville was more critical. ‘He struggled at being confident in the game,’ he said. ‘He's got to get over that quickly as he’s Manchester United’s centre-forward.’
Alan Shearer delivered excellent insight on Match of the Day 2, agreeing that Lukaku was ‘feeding off scraps’ but insisting he should have done much better with the passes he did receive in promising positions.
Shearer used good clips to show when Lukaku should have controlled rather than flicked on aimlessly, where his hesitation sucked the fluidity from attacks, and how his pace when running at City’s defenders seemed to evaporate into the winter air.
It could be time for Mourinho to give Zlatan Ibrahimovic some game time ahead of Lukaku
Shearer also spoke like the man with 260 Premier League goals when he said Lukaku should stay in between the 18-yard lines in order to recapture the form that saw him score 11 goals in his first 10 United games.
ROMELU LUKAKU'S 2017-18 STATS SO FAR: Starts - 22 Goals - 12 Assists - 4 Shots - 59 Shooting accuracy - 58.14 per cent (Premier League) Passing accuracy - 66.08 per cent (Premier League)
Whether Jose Mourinho would concur is questionable, but it cannot be levelled at Lukaku that he is too static. He has covered 148.4km in the Premier League this season, behind only Vardy (154.2km) on the list of strikers, while completing 722 sprints, 129 more than Kane. His top speed of 34.8km/h is faster than all but Vardy.
Mourinho has not wavered in his faith, playing Lukaku for every minute of Premier League football and against Arsenal it seemed like something had clicked in United’s attack. Lukaku linked well with Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, and Anthony Martial but without the presence of Paul Pogba that potency with limited possession fell apart against City.
Lukaku was isolated by Mourinho’s strategy and City’s superiority but he utterly failed at forcing his way into the game and while dips in form are understandable for any 24-year-old, he has the experience of five Premier League seasons behind him and for such a transfer fee his statistics leave plenty to be desired.
His shooting accuracy of 58.14 per cent is middling among his peers, while his pass accuracy of 66.08 per cent is at the bottom end.
In comparison to his world class peers, Lukaku's strike rate in front of goal is down
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He has created 16 chances this season to again leave room for improvement, while it has not gone unnoticed that Wayne Rooney’s eight Premier League goals have come at a rate of one every 134.38 minutes, nearly an 50 minutes less than Lukaku’s eight.
The trumpeting that accompanied United’s dramatic transfer coup to beat Chelsea to Lukaku’s signature is certainly not as loud now, given Alvaro Morata – the forward who seemed destined for Old Trafford instead – has got nine Premier League goals at a rate of one every 130.22 minutes.
Morata is also the more technically accomplished player and only a year older.
Lukaku has continued to feature week after week because of his early impact and Mourinho’s paucity of replacement options for the robust central striker he prefers.
Zlatan Ibramhimovic’s return from injury has come quicker than expected and while he still seemed stiff against City it might not be long before United’s manager decides the best course of action for his team and the player is to take Lukaku out of the limelight.