Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal record during Manchester United’s exciting win over Paris Saint-Germain. The Red Devils produced a stunning comeback to dump the French giants out of the Champions League last night. Trailing 2-0 from the first leg at Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side defied the odds to triumph 3-1 at Parc des Princes to reach the quarter-finals.
Marcus Rashford proved to be the hero as his last-ditch penalty ensured the victory and the headlines. But Lukaku is the man who appears to be hitting top form for the interim boss Solskjaer in recent weeks. He broke the deadlock in PSG after just two minutes before restoring the lead on the half hour mark after Juan Bernat had levelled. And his double helped equal a hugely impressive record of Old Trafford legend Ronaldo.
Wednesday’s brace took the big Belgian striker’s tally to six goals in his last three matches. They followed on from the pair of strikes he bagged against Southampton on Saturday and the duel efforts notched eight days ago at Crystal Palace. And now he has extra reason to celebrate a place in the last-eight of Europe’s pristine competition.
His recent exploits have the 25-year-old the first Manchester United player since Ronaldo to achieve a brace in three successive matches since Ronaldo. And you have to go back 13 years for when the Portuguese sealed his explosive run of goals for the Red Devils. Ronaldo, who left to join Real Madrid for £80m in 2009, began his run with a double against Aston Villa on December 23, 2016.
Three days later he bagged another two against in a victory over Wigan before ending that year with another brace in the win over Reading on 30 December. His next match saw him draw a blank in a 2-2 draw with Newcastle. But Lukaku now goes in to Sunday’s trip to Arsenal with an extra spring in his step as he looks to outdo the five-time Ballon d’Or hitman.