Three minutes after screaming at the top of his lungs to release all the frustration accumulated this Monday, Romelu Lukaku held his face with both hands when he realized that the sky had just fallen on his head. The previous 85 minutes seemed far behind him as he celebrated his equalizer against Slovakia. This time, after a nice overflow from Loïs Openda, he succeeded in his move by sending his shot with one touch into the back of the net of a previously imperial Martin Dúbravka. Finally, it is the video refereeing which will come, almost 180 seconds after the delivery, to crucify the Red Devil, the decisive passer having helped himself with his hand to begin his dribble. Just a stutter in the story, since a few minutes earlier, he had already pushed the ball into the empty goal following a helmet hit from Amadou Onana, refused for offside. Mini-faults which make the native of Antwerp the first player in the history of the Euro to see two of his goals refused by the VAR.
Previously, Lukaku had taken care to humiliate himself without anyone’s help. From the start, he set the tempo of his match with an unbalanced shot from close range stopped by the imposing opposing goalkeeper. The equally colossal center forward often opens doors with his deep runs, before suddenly closing them due to a finish unworthy of a player of his level.
The man of small meetings
At the 2022 World Cup, Romelu Lukaku had already been singled out, accused of being the main gravedigger of a Belgium that exited without even seeing the round of 16. Against Croatia, during the third group match, the striker had indeed missed everything and had failed to advance his country to the next round. For entry into Euro 2024, he once again showed his dark side. When Doctor Romelu scores 85 goals for the national team (52 more than his first pursuer, the legend Eden Hazard), Mister Lukaku misses out on his big meetings. Five of his six goals in the European Championship were scored in the different group stages, the sixth, scored in the quarter-finals in 2021 against Italy, was overshadowed by his “ shh » hit to Gianluigi Donnarumma and the elimination of the Belgians. Its history in the World Cup is not necessarily more glorious with brilliant performances against the United States (eighth, in 2014), Panama and Tunisia (in the group, in 2018).
He has only just celebrated his 31st birthday, but Romelu Lukaku looks very tired. Against Slovakia, his volley sent directly into the small outside net symbolizes an efficiency that crumbles over the years. He is also the first player of this edition to collect three big chances in one match. However, it is difficult to place the blame solely on his own person when Jérémy Doku persists in uninspired dribbling, when Kevin De Bruyne is much more messy than under the Manchester City tunic or when the Onana-Mangala midfielder only finds too rarely the solution to opposing pressure. Despite the arrival of Domenico Tedesco in place of Roberto Martínez, the offensive problems persist, since the Red Devils have not converted https://twitter.com/optajean/status/1802763963572089194?s=46&t=TLzVKTGWVM60vej0gdZhXQ none of their last 47 shots in a major tournament. We thought that these unsuccessful attempts were just a bad memory with 22 goals scored in eight Euro qualifying matches… including 14 from Romelu Lukaku, top scorer of this campaign. Now, Belgium and its striker have entered the competition, and that’s where things get stuck.
Slovakia signs the first surprise of this Euro
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