Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of hitting three consecutive braces for Manchester United has been matched by Romelu Lukaku as the Belgian forward continued his rapid return to form against Paris Saint-Germain.
While many of his colleagues had enjoyed a bright start under new boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Lukaku was forced to pick up scraps off the bench and went nine games without scoring before notching twice past Crystal Palace in February. He then added two more in the home win over Southampton before Wednesday’s trip to France.
The first of his brace came after just two minutes, latching onto an errant backpass to hold off Thiago Silva and slot home after rounding Gianluigi Buffon. The veteran goalkeeper was at fault for the second, spilling a straightforward Marcus Rashford effort into Lukaku’s path.
That put the striker on level terms with Ronaldo’s record, which came back in 2016 in games against Aston Villa, Wigan and Reading. While the Portuguese star failed to register past Newcastle in his subsequent game, Lukaku can go one better against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
United are unbeaten in their last four meetings with the Gunners, winning three including a 3-1 victory in the fourth round of this season’s FA Cup. A win for Solskjaer’s side in North London will put them four points clear of Arsenal and could even move them up to third with Spurs travelling to Southampton the day before.