Michael Owen described Romelu Lukaku as a “nightmare” to play against due to his all-round abilities and unpredictability after Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Belgium international scored his first-ever goal at Stamford Bridge with a composed finish after just 15 minutes. Impressively, it was also his first shot in the game.
Lukaku did not get many chances after that, though, as Chelsea spent a lot of time defending their lead in their own half for a large part of the game.
Mateo Kovacic doubled the lead early in the second half, capitalising on Tyrone Mings’ error, and it helped ease the pressure a lot.
Lukaku was not satisfied, however. In the stoppage time, with his only second shot of the game, he got his second goal.
Owen was particularly impressed with this goal, surprised by how Lukaku was able to have that much power in his shot from such an unfavourable situation.
“It’s brilliant from [Cesar] Azpilicueta, because he just hit the ball hard into Lukaku,” the former England international told Premier League Productions (via Optus Sport) about Chelsea’s third goal.
“Actually, his [Lukaku’s] second touch was an average one. The one with his right foot, [the ball was] actually stuck under his foot.
“I can’t believe he gets so much power from a ball that’s almost stuck under his foot.”
Lukaku has become more unpredictable, says Owen
The former Liverpool striker also highlighted Lukaku’s transformation into a more all-round player in the last few years.
“It doesn’t matter how you feed him the ball,” he added.
“He can run behind, he can hold it up, he can turn and run at you, he can score with his head, left foot, right foot — he can do anything.
“And when you’re unpredictable, then you must be a nightmare to mark.”
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