Jose Mourinho has opened up about the pep talk he gave new Manchester United signing Romelu Lukaku shortly before he netted his first goal for the club against Real Salt Lake.
The Belgian striker superbly controlled the ball, skipped around the goalkeeper and then slotted the ball into the back of the net despite the presence of a defender on the line.
That strike proved to be the winner as United clung on for a 2-1 victory after Antonio Valencia was rather controversially sent off, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan – who also assisted Lukaku’s goal – the other scorer on the night.
But even if Lukaku had not got on the score sheet, he still would have won the plaudits of his manager thanks to his excellent approach play – and the Portuguese told him exactly that moments before he bagged his goal.
Romelu Lukaku's first goal in a #ManUtd shirt pic.twitter.com/uexm2T88Ge
— Dave (@DesTaquito) July 18, 2017
‘I think it’s just nice for him. But not important for me,’ Mourinho told reporters in his post-match press conference.
‘When he came for the water before he scored the goal, I told him, “I love everything you do on the pitch, don’t be worried about scoring or not scoring, because it’s not important.”
‘He holds the ball so well, he plays one touch, two touch so well. He assists, he moves, he gets behind people, he attacks crosses, he works when the team loses the ball, he presses well.
‘I like everything he does, and for me he is easy to feel it because he was my player four years ago or something like that. His evolution was great. He is now a top striker. The goal is just a detail, not important.’
Lukaku moved to United from Everton for an initial fee of £75 million, though if various easily achievable clauses and targets are met that figure could reach a record-breaking £100m.
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