Romelu Lukaku assures he will ‘reveal the secret’ of his goal celebration at the end of the season and believes Inter could’ve beaten Benfica by three or four goals in the Champions League quarter-final.
The Belgium international came off the bench to convert a penalty, awarded for Joao Mario’s handling offence, and seal the 2-0 result at the Estadio da Luz.
Nicolò Barella had opened the scoring with his first header in the Nerazzurri jersey, meeting the Alessandro Bastoni cross.
“The penalty is all a matter of mentality and concentration. I don’t listen to anyone, not even my teammates,” Lukaku told Sport Mediaset when asked how he was able to maintain a perfect record from the spot.
Despite not always being in the starting XI, Lukaku has scored against FC Porto, Juventus and now Benfica in big fixtures, so does he feel his reputation of not delivering when it matters is unfair?
“I understand their reasoning considering my past performances. I help the team in any way I can and am getting back into shape. We have the responsibility to do well for this club, now we need a great game against Monza.”
Lukaku made the same gesture in celebration – a military salute and a finger to his lips urging silence – that got him sent off against Juventus, so what is the meaning behind it?
“That is a secret, I will reveal it at the end of the season. We played an intelligent match today and could’ve scored another three or four goals. Still, 2-0 is a good result, we’ve got to repeat this performance in Serie A now.
“We’ve got to talk about why we’re not playing the same way in Serie A, because that is an important competition.”