By Boluwatife Ezekiel Olaleye
Sky Sports pundit Phil Neville has commended Romelu Lukaku for not celebrating his winning goal against Bournemouth
The Belgian striker scored just his second Premier League goal since September on Wednesday but remained emotionless following his header.
Lukaku was subject to criticism for his performance in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City and Neville, who won six league titles during his spell at Old Trafford, believes the derby had a huge impact on him.
“I think there was a massive hangover from Sunday,” he said on The Debate.
“Romelu had a disappointing game.
“He did suffer a lot of criticism and maybe it wasn’t a night to celebrate.”
“He was obviously involved in the City goals and his chance at the end.
“He did suffer a lot of criticism and maybe it wasn’t a night to celebrate.
“After what happened on Sunday, the performance of the team, maybe it wasn’t a night to celebrate a goal.
“That hit Manchester United really hard, that defeat on Sunday, and there was a flatness around Old Trafford last night. There was still disappointment.
“I feel sorry for him. I think at the end of the season he could score 20-25 goals and people will say he’s not good enough for Man Utd.
“He’s scored so many goals already this season but all people see is the fault.
Man Utd striker Romelu Lukaku struggled in last weekend’s Manchester derby
“If you’re playing in that Man United team, does he get the best service? Is he best supported at times?
“I think he was still hurting from Sunday. You don’t get over that by scoring one goal at home against Bournemouth.”
United remain second in the table, 11 points behind table-topping rivals City.
Despite his barren spells, Lukaku has netted 14 times for United since his summer move and he’ll be keen to add to that total when he faces former side West Brom on Sunday.