Romelu Lukaku - Player of the Week

Lukaku looks good for Everton

Everton's star striker, Romelu Lukaku, scored two great team goals to give The Toffees a fantastic 3-0 victory away to Southampton. Everton's first goal arrived in the 22nd minute, just a minute after the Everton goalkeeper, Tim Howard, had made a brilliant save to deny Southampton's Sadio Mane. Everton attacked quickly and Aroune Kone put over a great cross, then Lukaku, with the ball slightly behind him, put a fantastic header into the top corner. Everton extended their lead just before half-time. Again Everton played on the counter-attack. Lukaku started the move on the halfway-line, with a pass to Ross Barkley. Barkley ran with the ball before passing back to Lukaku, who had continued his run and hit his second of the game. In the second half, Southampton tried to get back in the match but never looked threatening and it was Everton who scored the final goal of the match, with Barkley curling a beautiful finish into the top corner.

"As a team we were outstanding in every department. On the counter-attack we looked unplayable at times." Everton manager, Roberto Martinez.

How did Lukaku make fans of both teams happy?

Lukaku was Man of the Match at Southampton and created chaos in the Southampton defence every time he got the ball. He played on his own as a striker and this role was perfect for him. He scored twice to send the Everton fans home happy. It was the first time Lukaku had scored twice in a Premier League match since scoring two in the Merseyside Derby in November 2013. In this form, Lukaku is unplayable, but the challenge is whether he can perform at this level every week.

But, Lukaku wasn't in great form before the match. In the warm-up, Lukaku sent a shot straight into the Southampton crowd and it hit a woman straight in the face! But Lukaku wasn't slow to say sorry. He walked straight into the crowd and up to the Southampton fan to give her a hug and apologise. It's not very often when an away player is clapped by home fans, but on this occasion Southampton fans cheered Lukaku has he walked back onto the pitch. After his performance for Everton, maybe there weren't so many Southampton fans cheering Lukaku after the match!   

@RomeluLukaku9 climbs into the stands and apologises to a #SaintsFC fan after hitting her with a stray shot. http://t.co/l1V1BcgYA5

"When I hit her, I saw her face, it was a bit disappointing for me and her. I really didn't want her to get hurt. I just gave her my shirt. I hope she enjoyed it and will keep it. She said 'thank you'." Romelu Lukaku.

What do we know about Romelu Lukaku?

Romlelu Lukaku was born on 13 May 1993 in Antwerp. The city is the biggest in Belgium, but it's not the capital, which is Brussels. Antwerp is home to one of the biggest ports in the world and is very important for the economy of the city. Lukaku has football in the family as his father, Roger Lukaku, was also a footballer and played for Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the 1990s. When Lukaku was 13 years old, he joined Anderlecht's youth team. Anderlecht are the most successful team in Belgium and have won 5 European trophies and the Belgian league 33 times. Lukaku made his full debut for Anderlecht just 11 days after his sixteenth birthday, and scored his first goal at the beginning of the following season. He finished the 2009/10 season as the Belgian league's top scorer, and helped Anderlecht win the title for a 30th time and reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League, which was an amazing achievement for a 16 year-old. 

"Today we grabbed the game from minute one into our hands and we were efficient in front of goal, and that’s positive."  Romelu Lukaku.

Where did Lukaku move to next?

Lukaku's amazing performances for Anderlecht, naturally got the attention of some of the biggest clubs in European football. It was Chelsea who decided to sign the 18 year-old on a five year contract in August 2011. Lukaku made his Premier League debut in the same month, coming on as a substitute for Fernando Torres in a 3-1 win against Norwich City. Lukaku found it difficult to break into the Chelsea team and his 3-year stay at Stamford Bridge involved only 10 Premier League appearances for The Blues. During this time he did, however, have successful loan spells at West Bromwich Albion and Everton. In 2012/13, while on loan at West Brom, Lukaku scored 17 Premier League goals, which was more than any other Chelsea player that season. In 2013/14, he spent the season on loan at Everton and scored 15 Premier League goals. In the summer of 2014, Lukaku made a permanent transfer to Everton for a record fee of £28 million.

"Romelu and I are good friends. We wish each other all the best." Liverpool striker, Christian Benteke.

Does Lukaku play for his country?

Lukaku has 37 caps for the Belgian national team and has scored 8 goals (August 2015). He was also an important member of Belgium's World Cup team that reached the quarter-finals at Brazil 2014. His main rival for a place in the team is Liverpool's Christian Benteke, as Belgium often play with just one striker in the team. It is an interesting rivalry that we are sure will develop now Benteke is also playing on Merseyside. Lukaku, after his two goals against Southampton, has more Premier League goals (44) than any other Belgian in Premier League history. But Benteke, after scoring the winner for Liverpool against Bournemouth at the weekend, is just one goal behind with 43 Premier League goals.

Who will finish the season with most goals, Everton's Romelu Lukaku or Liverpool's Christian Benteke?

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