It was a sad and frustrating day for Lukaku and the Belgian team against Slovakia.

Romelu Lukaku was the target of criticism on the day Belgium suffered a bitter defeat against Slovakia. Photo: AFP

This isn't the first time Romelu Lukaku has shown a lack of clinical finishing in big matches. Teams he's played for, such as Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter, and currently AS Roma, have experienced this more than once. Yet, every time the Belgian star appears clumsy in front of goal, he becomes the target of ridicule and criticism.

Lukaku is both pitiable and blameworthy. A striker who once claimed to be among the top five goalscorers in the world has repeatedly missed golden opportunities in front of goal. Lukaku can blame fate for the disallowed goal by VAR, but what about the situations before that?

The 31-year-old striker arrived at EURO 2024 with the record of being the top scorer in the history of the qualifying rounds. This achievement was due to Lukaku being placed in a system where everything worked to support him, under the direction of head coach Domenico Tedesco. However, once again, the match against Slovakia was a devastating blow to the confidence of the striker who had scored 85 goals for "The Red Devils".

Every time Lukaku handles the ball in front of the Slovakia goal, he inadvertently becomes the target of jokes on social media. Photo: AFP

When Lukaku was ineffective and unlucky, Tedesco tried to swap Trossard and Doku's positions but to no avail. He then pushed De Bruyne further forward to try and score, but that was also unsuccessful. Lukaku was a veritable obstacle for his teammates. After the match, Kevin De Bruyne was so upset he burst into tears. This could be the last EURO of the midfielder's career, and he may never achieve any glory.

After the match, upon reading hundreds of thousands of mocking comments on social media about his player, coach Tedesco could do nothing but offer words of comfort. Belgium's journey in this year's tournament is not over after the loss to Slovakia, but it will be infinitely more difficult.

"He has played for the Belgian national team for a long time and knows how to score goals. That was evident in today's match as well."

Lukaku scored two goals, but neither was allowed. If he needed encouragement, I'm right here. However, I guess Lukaku doesn't need it because he has enough composure and professionalism to handle things like this," Tedesco shared.

The Belgian team suffered a defeat that couldn't have been more frustrating, especially with Kevin De Bruyne involved. Photo: AFP

Lukaku understands how important it is to perform well at EURO 2024. This could be his last EURO, as he will be 35 years old by the next one. Furthermore, with Chelsea unwilling to include him in their squad and AS Roma having run out of money to loan him from The Blues, Lukaku understands he must make an extraordinary effort to remain sought after in the 2024 summer transfer window.

The opportunities against Ukraine and Romania are still there, Lukaku and his teammates need to take advantage of them. Bad luck can happen at any time, but it's not worth it for it to be so cruel as to bring De Bruyne to tears.

Source: https://laodong.vn/bong-da-quoc-te/mot-ngay-vua-buon-vua-uat-uc-cua-lukaku-va-doi-tuyen-bi-truoc-slovakia-1354502.ldo