Lukaku impressed by Man Utd after leading Inter to Europa League final
Romelu Lukaku will not be reunited with Manchester United in the Europa League final, but has been impressed by his former side.
Inter star Romelu Lukaku had words of praise for his former club Manchester United after he scored twice to help the Nerazzurri reach the Europa League final.
Lukaku struck a late double as Inter cruised to a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Monday, with Lautaro Martinez and Danilo D’Ambrosio also on the scoresheet.
Serie A runners-up Inter might have been going up against Lukaku’s old club in Friday’s final, but it was five-time Europa League champions Sevilla who progressed from Sunday’s clash against Premier League side United.
However, despite missing out on a reunion with the Red Devils following his Old Trafford exit last year, Lukaku has confidence United will continue to improve under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – who guided the English side to third in the Premier League this term and three semi-finals.
“United tried their hardest,” Lukaku told BT Sport post-game. “I think they had a really good season, Ole did a good job. The players have done really well.
“[Mason] Greenwood is coming through, [Anthony] Martial and [Marcus] Rashford, I expected all of that.
“I’m really happy for them, they look really good for next season. I had no doubts.”
18 – Romelu Lukaku has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 10 UEFA Europa League matches (14 goals & 4 assists). The Belgian striker has scored in a record 10 successive games in the competition. Streak. pic.twitter.com/oFn0lybiXI
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 17, 2020
Lukaku’s double improved his Inter tally to 33 goals in all competitions in his maiden season with Antonio Conte’s side, as he scored in a 10th consecutive Europa League appearance – surpassing a record he set himself in the quarter-finals.
Martinez, who had scored only three Serie A goals following the resumption of the season, also hit form in style on Monday, though Lukaku insisted it is Sevilla who are the favourites heading into the final.
“At the minute everything is going well, but we’re still fighting – there’s only a game to go,” the Belgium international said.
“Records are nice to be broken but at the end of the day we’re going for a win, and I think the team we are going to play are the favourites.
“So we have to make sure we recover well and then really prepare ourselves.
“The team’s doing well, everybody is doing their best. Physically and tactically, everybody is at 100 per cent, and we can keep going so it’s a good thing.”