Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has defended Romelu Lukaku after his poor display against Croatia at the FIFA World Cup on November December 1.
The former striker claims it is difficult to expect a lot from a player who is playing limited minutes and is coming back from an injury.
Lukaku missed multiple chances in the goalless draw against Croatia in their final group-stage match. The draw saw Belgium getting knocked out of the FIFA World Cup, while Croatia made it through to the Round of 16.
Speaking to BBC One after the match, Drogba jumped to the defense of Lukaku and claimed that there was too much pressure on the Inter loanee. He said:
“We all (felt sorry for Lukaku) but we cannot put the blame on someone who has been injured the last two months. He comes on for 30 minutes and you want him to win the game. As a striker he should have been a bit more on his toes but it’s very difficult to blame him for this.”
He added:
“I think it’s difficult. The defender is in front of you and the goalkeeper, this is his right foot, the way his body is pointing towards goal it’s difficult to turn twist and score.”
Drogba went on to claim that only Filippo Inzaghi would score in such situations and added:
“It’s difficult. You need a few more games to find the rhythm. I think a player like [Filippo] Inzaghi would score, he would always be on his toes. I think he’s frustrated not only because he missed the goals but the spirit of this team during the tournament. The talks, the fights between players this is what he’s frustrated about more than the goals he missed I think.”
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku blasted by former Inter Milan chief
Former Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti branded Romelu Lukaku’s return to San Siro as a ‘big rip-off’. He believes the club were doing better without the Chelsea loanee.
He told Gianluca Rossi’s YouTube channel:
“We almost forgot the fact that Inter are doing without the player they had based everything on, [Romelu] Lukaku. A big rip-off, he has practically never played.”
Lukaku has played just four matches in Serie A since his return on loan from Chelsea in the summer. In his 248 minutes on the pitch, the striker scored once and assisted as many times.
