MILAN:
Romelu Lukaku returns to Inter Milan It’s far from what he expected but the Belgium striker is showing signs of life as his side prepare for the Champions League visit to Porto.
Hit by a series of injuries and mocked for his part in his country’s poor World Cup campaign, Lukaku has become a public figure in what should have been a glorious comeback season for the 2021 Serie A champions.
The 29-year-old has only played a full 90 minutes for Inter since returning on loan from Chelsea last summer, seven starts and three goals in all competitions a poor return. because of all the visibility of the season.
On Saturday, Lukaku scored his first Serie A goal since the opening day of the season, scoring a penalty in the second attempt that gave Inter a 3-1 victory.
But this was not the most convincing way to get back on the scoreboard because his first move from the goal was very dangerous, later scoring when an Udinese player was found to have been fouled in the area of the goal. sin
And as Lukaku is behind Edin Dzeko in line to play alongside Lautaro Martinez, the other half of the great ‘Lu-La’ partner who returned from Argentina at the World Cup in winning power and wearing the captain’s shirt. handcuffs
Martinez has scored eight goals in all competitions since returning from Qatar and will be coach Simone Inzaghi’s best weapon on Wednesday night.
His happy attitude after the World Cup was in stark contrast to Lukaku’s state of mind at the Gulf, a broken-down drive and a streak of missed chances against Croatia that ruined the team’s chances. Red Devils in the group stage only remembers a fierce competition.
“Croatia was a big disappointment but I said to myself: ‘Romelu, you are not 100 percent, you only have two training sessions,'” said Lukaku at the beginning of the year.
“It was fair to kill me but now I want to get back on the field.”
In the summer, all the talk is that Inter will be able to get money to return to Italy permanently if Chelsea get more than 100 million euros for him in 2021.
But the Italian media are widely reporting that although Inter want to keep Lukaku they need to see his physical problems are behind him before they try to convince Chelsea to accept four million euros to extend the loan for another season.
Inzaghi seems keen to keep him, his side are struggling to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2011 but are also in a five-way battle for the places. three in next year’s competition.
“Lukaku is improving day by day, game by game, training by training. We have a lot of faith in Roma,” said Inzaghi after the win over Udinese.
“He had problems last season in London, we brought him back here and then he got a serious injury that affected him for four months.
“If he is starting games, then he is in good shape and it will help him to strengthen this position.”
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