Romelu Lukaku overcame his mistakes to score a vital goal for Roma in their Europa League draw with Feyenoord, dividing opinion in the Italian newspapers.
The Giallorossi faced off against their new Dutch rivals on the third occasion in three years and were unable to take the edge at De Kuip on Thursday evening, returning to Italy after a tense 1-1 draw.
Lukaku had a few chances to score for Roma before he finally managed to find the equaliser in the 67th minute, salvaging the game for Daniele De Rossi’s side, who’ll now look to deliver the knockout blow in Rome on February 22nd.
La Gazzetta dello Sport didn’t mince their words when reviewing the contributions of Lukaku in Roma’s draw with Feyenoord, writing: “His performance was terrible, he aimed two easy goals at the hands of the goalkeeper, but the equaliser has enormous value.”
Corriere dello Sport were a little more forgiving of the Belgian striker, drawing attention to his milestone goal in the match, commenting: “A personal battle on headers, he missed three, then in the end he scored with his shoulder.
“Goal number 16 of the season, Big Rom is the third highest scorer in the history of the Europa League (preliminaries excluded) with 26 goals. Sixth goal in this edition of the tournament: decisive.”
Lukaku has now scored 16 goals and provided two assists in 30 appearances across all competitions this season for Roma.
Italian newspapers ratings for Lukaku
La Gazzetta dello Sport: 6.5
Corriere dello Sport: 7
Tuttosport: 7