Romelu Lukaku during his time at Manchester United (Getty images)
Manchester United continued their disappointing run in the Premier League with a goalless draw against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The Red Devils struggled to stamp their authority on the game as none of the midfielders had any significant impact. In all honesty, Manchester United had nothing to boast about from that game against Palace barring a superb header from Romelu Lukaku which forced an equally good save from Wayne Hennesey.
In fact, they were lucky to survive a late scare from the Eagles as Andros Townsend stormed past the defenders, only to put his effort wide of the mark.
It has been a bit of a topsy-turvy tale for United so far in all competitions. In fact, it has been funny to see how they can be so good in one game and equally bad in the next.
Manchester United were clearly the underdogs against Juventus at Turin, especially after losing 1-0 against the Italian giants at Old Trafford last month. However, the Red Devils managed to pull the rabbit out of the hat to produce a gritty and resolute display against Juventus away from home, taking the footballing world by surprise with a 2-1 win.
The 2-1 win against Juventus was followed by a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in the Premier League just before the international break. Jose Mourinho’s men were completely outclassed and humiliated by their city rivals, thus losing valuable ground at the top of the table.
However, that 2-1 win against Juventus helped United breathe life into their tottering Champions League campaign. They started off with a bang, winning 3-0 against Champions League newcomers BSC Young Boys away from home on Matchday 1 but dropped points against Valencia at home before losing to Juventus on Matchday 3.
Manchester United were not at their best in that 3-0 thrashing of the Swiss champions earlier in the campaign but the Red Devils will be expected to claim all three points against the newcomers on Tuesday night.
It will be important for United to get the best possible result from this game as they would not want to put themselves under pressure when they play Valencia away from home in their final group game.
United underwhelmed for large quarters of the game against Crystal Palace but they should take heart from the solid performance of Victor Lindelof at the back. Anthony Martial, who has been one of United’s standout figures in the attack in recent weeks, did not quite deliver the goods but Romelu Lukaku showed some signs of improvement.
The Belgian, who joined for a fee of £75m, has excelled with his work rate and mobility in the final third, making runs behind the defenders and drifting wide at times to supply balls into the box.
And Romelu Lukaku will once again hold the key to United’s success when they play host to the Swiss champions on Tuesday.
Lukaku is a real menace in the air for the defenders and a genuine threat from corners and set-pieces. Furthermore, he can hold the ball up the field, allowing his teammates to get into scoring positions and his link-up play in the final third is of the highest quality. He needs to be at the top of his game to play the likes of Martial and Lingard in behind the defence.
That said, Manchester United should rely on Romelu Lukaku to deliver the goods on Tuesday and he is arguably United’s best bet to finding the net amidst a goalscoring crisis.