Burden falling on Lukaku to lead Belgium to Euro 2020 title
Belgium 3-0 Russia: Lukaku at the double in comfortable Red Devils win
It was the way Lukaku took his goals that really marked him out as a star of the future. One was nothing more than a tap-in after a defensive blunder but he was in the right place to capitalize, while the other saw him use his body strength to shrug off a defender and steer home a finish.
More than a decade later and, in one sense, nothing has changed. Lukaku again scored two goals at Russia on Saturday, with the origins of the goals in the 3-0 win eerily similar to those of 11 years ago. Yet this time the stage and surroundings were different. This was no friendly, like in Voronezh in 2010. This was the team’s first match of a European Championship, in St. Petersburg with the eyes of the world on him.
Doesn’t matter to Lukaku, a player seemingly born to score goals. A player who treats every game as if it’s his last. A player whose work ethic, and those hours and hours of watching video clips of top strikers like Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o that he stored in his own DVD library, is paying off.
Forget Eden Hazard and even forget Kevin De Bruyne. It’s Lukaku — not just a lethal scorer but now a leader and a role model — on whom the burden is falling to lead Belgium to its first ever title in a major tournament.
Lukaku was in tears in Belgium’s dressing room only a couple of hours before the game against Russia after watching his teammate at Inter Milan — Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen — collapse to the ground against Finland in Copenhagen and require CPR from medical staff before regaining consciousness.
