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Romelu Lukaku could be the best goalscorer at this European Championship, but his statistics show a zero. About someone who lives from scoring goals, but is not a fan of the video assistant.
There were 48 seconds between the moment the ball hit the bottom left corner and the referee’s whistle. Romelu Lukaku, 31, had not been idle. He had run towards the corner flag in celebration, his left hand pointing to the sky above Cologne. He had waved to his teammates, received lots of hugs and made a short speech. Then Szymon Marciniak blew the whistle.
The still image then showed what the video assistant on the ground floor of Leipzig had pointed out to referee Marciniak. Lukaku was offside with the tip of his foot and part of his shoulder, or rather he was probably offside. It was pretty close. Without the VAR, the goal would definitely have counted – and Lukaku doesn’t have the best relationship with it anyway.
He celebrated his own goal three times in Belgium’s first two games at this European Championship, but the video assistant always intervened afterwards and spoiled his mood. So Lukaku’s statistics do not include three goals, which would have put him at the top of the list of goalscorers at this finals. Instead, there is a zero.
De Bruyne on Lukaku: “That doesn’t worry me”
Belgium won 2-0 (1-0) against Romania on Saturday (June 22, 2024) without a goal from Lukaku. Domenico Tedesco’s team now has every chance of reaching the round of 16. And that was also thanks to Lukaku. He carefully set up Youri Tielemans’ opening goal. Kevin De Bruyne scored shortly before the end and was subsequently named player of the match.
That’s why De Bruyne later took the place that coach Tedesco had vacated shortly before at the press conference. De Bruyne, 32, spoke about the course of the game, with which he was “very satisfied”. After all, the Belgians had scored a goal in a finals match for the first time since their opening match at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and also won.
But he also spoke about the goals, of which his team could have scored more. And about Lukaku, who scored but only celebrated briefly. “That doesn’t worry me,” said De Bruyne. “For me, he scored the three goals, even if they weren’t recognized.”
For Lukaku, it was always allowed to be big goals
What we know about Romelu Lukaku is that he speaks many languages, five or six, and that he grew up in poverty and that poverty was his motivation. Lukaku wrote all of this down for the magazine “The Players Tribune” a few years ago. He wrote: “I wanted to be the best footballer in Belgian history. That was my goal. Not good. Not great. The best.”
Lukaku may not have become the best footballer in the history of Belgian football, but he is a very good one. Because he is a centre-forward, his quality is also measured by goals. This has never been a problem for Lukaku. Since making his debut for the national team at the age of 16, he has made 117 international appearances and scored 85 goals. He is Belgium’s record goalscorer. In qualifying for the European Championships, he scored 14 goals, more than any other player.
Lukaku is good at controlling the ball with his back to the goal. He set up Tielemans’ goal. He is fast, so against Romania he sometimes ran away from defenders who, unlike him, did not have to control the ball. He throws himself into balls that no one else wants to throw themselves into. He has scored some exceptional goals this way. He can head the ball precisely and he often shoots accurately, but not always.
Lukaku also sometimes makes wrong decisions
This was also evident against Romania. Once, in the 66th minute, when Lukaku got the ball, he was already in the opponent’s penalty area. He held his own against two opponents and then shot while turning. But he didn’t aim for the far corner, which would have been the best solution. He aimed for the near corner. Goalkeeper Florin Niţă was there. He parried Lukaku’s shot.
After the game, coach Tedesco rushed to Lukaku, hugged him and whispered something in his ear. Tedesco preferred not to reveal what he had said to his goalscorer. But when he later talked about the game, he eventually brought up the goals that had not been scored. He said: “We missed one or two chances. Four or five goals would have been possible today.”
