Manchester United legend-turned-pundit Rio Ferdinand was not impressed with the performance of Romelu Lukaku during Wednesday night’s 0-0 Champions League draw versus Sevilla.
The Belgium international bagged a brace during the 2-0 FA Cup triumph over Huddersfield Town last weekend, but he could not replicate his form in Seville where he missed a glorious chance – off an Alexis Sanchez cross – to put United ahead in the first-half.
As the game went on, Lukaku struggled to gain any control in the forward department, and his only reasonable involvement came off a searching pass from Paul Pogba which was controlled his arm before bundling into the opposition net.
Speaking on BT Sport, via M.E.N, Ferdinand had no excuses for the Belgian’s showing, and was frustrated with another dismal forward display from the club’s number 9.
He said: “It is so frustrating. He has all the tools and everything to scare a defender, he is big, strong, quick. He has scored a lot of goals but the big games, big nights, big moments, he needs to produce.
“[He had] 38 touches and 18 times he gave it away and if you are trying to produce a counter-attacking performance the ball has to stick. With Lukaku in the team at the moment, the ball doesn’t stick so the counter-attack doesn’t happen.”
Lukaku’s season has been characterised by his struggles to show up against the big teams, and this is a cause of concern with United due to host Chelsea and Liverpool in two of their next three Premier League games.
With the arrival of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, United naturally showed a better attacking presence in the opposition half, and Mourinho can’t take more risks with the Belgian, if he continues to miss the limited scoring opportunities on the road.
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