Alan Shearer has some advice for Romelu Lukaku on how to end his goal drought.
Lukaku had another disappointing afternoon on Sunday as Manchester United lost 1-0 away to Chelsea. The Belgian striker tested Thibaut Courtois with an effort in the first-half, but otherwise put in another underwhelming performance. Lukaku and Marcus Rashford showed few signs of developing a partnership up-front, and Lukaku made very little of the service he was provided from United’s midfield – which was, in truth, not a lot.
The former Everton striker looks desperately short of confidence, and his excellent form from the opening weeks of the season has deserted him. Lukaku still has a very respectable record of seven goals in 10 league games this season, but he hasn’t found the net since United’s 4-0 win over Crystal Palace at the end of September – seven fixtures ago.
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Lukaku’s poor performance against Chelsea was highlighted further by the display of Alvaro Morata. The Spanish striker was excellent and scored with a stunning header in the second half.
The performances of both strikers were put under the microscope on Match of the Day 2Â by Alan Shearer and Ian Wright. They praised Morata for his excellent all-round display, and Shearer offered some advice to the United striker on what he’s doing wrong. The former Newcastle United striker, who is the Premier League’s all-time top scorer with 260 goals, said Lukaku needs to get back to basics.
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“My advice to him would be, when you are on a barren spell, (is) forget going out wide and coming deep, it is time to be selfish,” Shearer said.
“He has to think about the width of the 18-yard box. That is where he is at his most dangerous. Let other people create chances for you. He is getting judged on scoring goals. He is going deep, going out wide, he isn’t helping himself and certainly isn’t helping anyone.”
Wright rightly pointed out that Lukaku isn’t getting great service, but that the player also has to look at his own contribution.
“When you aren’t scoring, you look at two things – am I getting the service? And am I making the right runs?” Wright said.
“I think it is a combination of the two. He is well capable of scoring in this team but he is making the wrong moves and the chances aren’t coming. The service is terrible. Nobody is helping him. I am not sure how he is going to score goals if they keep playing like this. Mkhitaryan had six passes to him. That is nowhere near good enough.”
You can watch Shearer and Wright here:
