How Romelu Lukaku Reacted To Paul Pogba’s Penalty Miss
Reuters/Carl Recine
It was Manchester United that Old Trafford saw taste victory, as Southampton were denied a win and a draw in dramatic fashion. The scoreline stood 3-2 at the full-time whistle.
The Saints opened the scoring in the first-half through Yan Valery. Rejuvenated in the second-half, United responded first through Andreas Pereira and then via a Romelu Lukaku goal.
James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick goal seemed ready to spoil the party, but Lukaku waited until the final minute of normal time to win the game for United.
In added time, the Southampton defenders fouled Marcus Rashford, resulting in the referee awarding United with a penalty, a feat that the Saints ought to have received on two separate occasions during the game.
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Despite Lukaku being on a hattrick, it was still Paul Pogba who stepped up to take the spot-kick. After his customary slow jog to the spot, the Frenchman ended up slotting the ball towards the dead center of the net.
Unfortunately for him, goalkeeper Angus Gunn was able to deflect the ball with his leg, and United were denied the chance to win the game 4-2.
Lukaku, in particular, seemed to be the clear loser in this scenario, as his probable hattrick would have been the first one a United player would have registered since Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
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Speaking after the game, Lukaku proved why he was the perfect team-player, as he stated: “We knew we had to win the game today and did it. Not our best game but we have to be happy. We created a lot of chances in the opening 10 minutes but won the game.”
He then addressed the penalty incident in the following manner: “I am a striker and I wanted Paul Pogba to score the penalty, he has been on a good run but he has been an important player for us.”
Pure class from the Belgian striker. Has his performance in the last two games reinstated his presence in the starting lineup?