Given he also shot roughly 50% more than Lukaku, from an average of more than 4m further out, perhaps that says nothing more than that, in Lautaro Martínez, Lukaku had a productive partner in a way that Ronaldo did not.Īt this tournament, though, Ronaldo’s contribution beyond his goals has far outweighed his goals: in the group stage he completed 79 of 97 passes Lukaku 34 of 50, and effected 13 successful pressures to Lukaku’s two.
He actually attempted 1,086 passes to Lukaku’s 765 last season, despite registering just two assists to Lukaku’s 11. There is an easy assumption that Ronaldo these days spends his time hanging around the opposing box, waiting for chances to be delivered, but it is not exactly true. Ronaldo was top scorer in Serie A with 29 goals Lukaku second with 24 (Lukaku was on the pitch for 82 minutes longer both played just under 50 hours). In fact, the picture is not straightforward at all. Photograph: Lluís Gené/AFP/Getty Imagesīut the picture is not so straightforward as that. The Belgian, on three goals, could yet deny Ronaldo, who has five, the Euro 2020 Golden Boot.
The temptation is to set him in opposition to Lukaku, the ageing and individualistic goal machine against the complete forward, the striker coming into his pomp who combines a target-man’s build with extreme speed and the tactical brain of a schemer.Ĭristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku embrace after the final whistle in Seville. He is more of a penalty box player now than he was, and the most extraordinary of his many remarkable attributes is now his strength and athleticism, particularly when heading the ball, rather than the mesmerising blur of his rapid feet. At 36, of course he cannot hare about as he once did but equally, as his goal against Germany showed, he is still capable of bursts of explosive pace.
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That he has moved from tricksy winger to old-school No 9, made the full journey from Stanley Matthews to Tommy Lawton, is an appealing shorthand, but it is not quite the full story. At the final whistle the pair embraced, Lukaku consoling the fallen champion.Īs he has aged, Ronaldo has become a harder and harder footballer to categorise. There was a sense in which this was about their rivalry, both in terms of a direct battle for the Golden Boot at this tournament and a clash of their different interpretations of what it is to be a modern centre-forward. He’s up a minute later and on his feet anyway, so it couldn’t have hurt that much."įortunately for De Gea, his mistake did not come at the cost of three points thanks to a remarkable United comeback.Between them, Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo scored 53 goals in Serie A last season. Yes, they hurt, but I’m not sure he should be staying down like that. "With him going down like that, not a care to where the ball is. "I don’t think I’m being too harsh here, I don’t think the game has changed that much, I think that happens in every game, someone standing on your foot or your ankle. "I didn’t see a serious foul on the goalkeeper, and it’s only when you see it close that De Gea actually stands on him.
The Spaniard required treatment from United's physio as VAR conducted the check but Shearer had little sympathy, insisting he should have risen to his feet and made a routine save to deny Smith Rowe.Īsked for his verdict on the controversial incident, the former England striker told Amazon Prime Video Sport : "Goal, because I didn’t see or hear the referee blow. David de Gea left his goal unguarded as Emile Smith Rowe volleyed in