Manchester United fans have taken to social media to praise top scorer Romelu Lukaku after the Belgian hit his 25th goal of the season at the weekend.
Lukaku scored the opener on Saturday as United beat Brighton 2-0 at Old Trafford to take them into the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
The Belgian’s strike was his 10th in 14 games for United since the turn of the season and saw him become only the 10th player in the club’s modern history to hit the 25 goal mark in a single season.
Eric Cantona, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the only other players to have achieved such a feat.
Despite his impressive goal-scoring record in his debut campaign at Old Trafford however, the former Chelsea and Everton man has come under plenty of criticism from the United fans.
Lukaku insists he remains un-phased and has big ambitions.
“I think a lot of people are judging me as the finished article,” he told Sky Sports earlier in the year. “I’m 24 – you can’t judge me as the finished article. I’d rather have a year where I improve, improve, improve rather than going straight to the top and then declining.
“I know I have a lot of talent. I can do a lot of stuff, score goals with my left, right and head. But I want to be a creator – I want to have more assists. I want to make sure when my team is having difficulties they can count on me.
“I’m on the perfect stage and the perfect age. I want to be a winner and take my career to the next level.”
And it seems that his reluctance to listen to his critics is finally paying off. The tide seems to be turning at Old Trafford for the £75 million superstar …
🇧🇪 Lukaku for Man Utd…
– Games: 44
– Goals: 25
Deserves more respect#MUNBHA pic.twitter.com/tU7t8GfVXv
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) March 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/AidanMUFC_/status/975124582435905538
Say what you like about Lukaku, but 25 goals by March in his first season for a defensively minded United side is an impressive return to say the least.
— Patrick Timmons (@PatrickTimmons1) March 17, 2018
25 goals in 44 appearances for #mufc for Lukaku now and 10 in his last 14. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea but he’s one of the few who has been consistently delivering over this difficult past couple of months
— James Ducker (@TelegraphDucker) March 17, 2018
🎯 Goals this season…
– Lukaku: 25
– Firmino: 24
– Suarez: 24
– Griezmann: 22
– Morata: 12
World class#MUNBHA pic.twitter.com/YcbsTdplP5
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) March 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/AdamMcKola/status/975359639381528576
https://twitter.com/ManUtdReport_/status/975310921936629760
https://twitter.com/Cookies_GH/status/975109011841388545
Romelu Lukaku has 32 goal contributions, 25 goals and 7 assists. Say what you want but that’s a phenomenal return in a defensively minded United side. Man in form 🇧🇪🔥.
— Man United Media (@ManUnitedMedia) March 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/RL9FC/status/975406241492201475
🇧🇪 Lukaku in his debut season for Man United:
🔴 Games: 44
⚽️ Goals: 25
🎯 Assists: 7
And people are still calling him a flop? 😂🤔 pic.twitter.com/4a5tvD0KDw
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) March 17, 2018