FOOTBALL NEWS
13/11/2017 14:33, Report by Mark Froggatt
ROMELU LUKAKU: I AM LIKE A LEOPARD IN THE BOX
Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has described himself as a “leopard in the box”.
The 24-year-old powerhouse became Belgium’s joint-top scorer of all time on Friday night by scoring a brace in a 3-3 draw with Mexico in Brussels, taking his international tally to 30 goals.
The haul is equal to that of Bernard Voorhoof and Paul van Himst, but Lukaku has the chance to claim the record for himself when Roberto Martinez’s Belgium take on Japan in a friendly on Tuesday evening.
Following his brace, which ended a run of seven matches without a goal at club level, Lukaku spoke confidently about his abilities and remarkable statistics for somebody so young.
“It’s a relief but I knew it would come,” he told Sky. “I feel great, to be honest. I was born to score. I don’t think many strikers of my generation have as many goals as me. I am like a leopard in the box.”
Lukaku’s animalistic description echoes his Reds team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who famously refers to himself as a lion in interviews. The Swede is currently working hard to regain full fitness at the Aon Training Complex and hopes to return in the coming months, which has Romelu fired up.
“It motivates me really because he's another good player to add to the squad,” Lukaku said while on international duty. “When you face a team like us, it's difficult for opponents. Ibrahimovic coming back will help us to chase Manchester City [in the title race].”
Quizzed on United’s recent performances and results, Lukaku was confident the team will soon get back to top form. “Lately, we haven’t performed like we did at the start of the season,” he said.
“We started by blowing teams away, being dominant and creating chances. But, in the last few weeks, we didn’t play at the same level and that made it more difficult for me.
“That’s the sort of thing you have to go through in the season, but now there are players coming back from injury and hopefully we can deliver performances even better than at the start of the season. We can create more chances and goals.”
Follow our International Reds blog for rolling coverage of the players representing their countries.