Romelu Lukaku is back in the goals.
Having ended his recent drought with the only goal of the game for Manchester United against Bournemouth on Wednesday, the Belgian followed it up with the opener against West Brom on Sunday afternoon. Just as was the case following his strike in midweek, Lukaku opted not to celebrate his goal at the Hawthorns.
As of yet, it’s still unclear why the former Everton striker is choosing not to react to his goals. It was suggested earlier in the week that this was a response to the criticism he’d received for his performance in the Manchester derby, where, after inadvertently helping Manchester City with their two goals, he missed a late opportunity to equalise.
Speaking after the 2-1 win at West Brom, Jose Mourinho put forward a couple of possible explanations as to why his number nine had not celebrated his most recent goal.
“One is his love for West Bromwich Albion,” Mourinho explained – a reference to the loan spell Lukaku spent with the club five years ago.
“He was a happy kid here, they made him feel at home. It was here that he exploded in the Premier League.”
His second possible reason was perhaps slightly less believable, Mourinho claiming Lukaku was modelling himself on him…
“He probably looks at me. I don’t celebrate, too,” he added.
United reduced City’s lead at the top of the Premier League to 11 points, following a 4-1 win for Pep Guardiola’s side over Tottenham on Saturday.
