Romelu Lukaku took centre stage during a post-match interview with CBS, mocking Micah Richards for his Italian and hugging Thierry Henry, but also revealed Inter‘s turning point this season.
The Belgian striker spoke to CBS pundits after Inter’s 1-0 win over city rivals Milan in a Champions League semifinal second leg at San Siro.
Lukaku reunited with Henry who had been working as Belgium’s assistant coach for several years, stepping down after the World Cup in Qatar and Roberto Martinez’s sacking in December.
“It’s a big final, it was very important for us, we were inconsistent in the league, but we had a turnaround in the last month, and everybody is doing the job. We have a common goal,” said Lukaku.
The Belgium international also admitted that he hadn’t realised how tough the hamstring injury he sustained in the first part of the season was, so he was not in his best shape at the World Cup.
Inter have lost 11 games in Serie A this season and Lukaku explained the team’s highs and lows during the campaign.
“At one point we tried to play the high press which is not our biggest strength,” he admitted.
“We won the league a few years ago playing counter-attacking football. Last year, it was a bit of a mix, we tried to change but we conceded a lot of goals in the first few games. In this league, the defence wins. At some point, the coach said: ‘You know what? Let’s go back to being compact and go from there, going forward as quickly as possible.’ That’s when we started clicking, scoring a lot of goals and winning games.”
Who would he like to face in the Final?
“Whoever you meet, it’s a big team. Pep Guardiola has a tactical plan for every game. Real Madrid have two quality wingers, Vinicius and Rodrygo, becoming World Cup players, I just want to see a good game as a football fan.”
When asked about Henry as a coach, Lukaku replied: “Very old-school, very strict. I think when we met I was at Everton and I asked him ‘What can I do better?’ We sat together for eight days, watching every game and every clip on WyScout. I am very grateful to him, tough coaches tell what you want to hear, you don’t want to be pumped all the time.”
The interview ended with a mockery for Richards who tried to speak Italian making Henry and Lukaku jokingly run away.