Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku does not deserve criticism for barren run, says Dimitar Berbatov

Scoreless run: Lukaku has now gone eight games without scoring
EPA
Joe Krishnan26 October 2018

Dimitar Berbatov believes Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku has been unfairly targeted for criticism as the striker's struggles in front of goal continue.

Lukaku was singled out by BT Sport pundits and former United players Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes for his poor performance after drawing another blank in the 1-0 Champions League defeat to Juventus on Tuesday.

It means the 25-year-old has now gone eight games without a goal for his club and hasn't scored at Old Trafford since March.

But former Red Devils striker Berbatov insists the Belgian is working hard for the team and it is only a matter of time before he gets back to form.

"There has been a lot of criticism for Romelu Lukaku since the game but you'll never catch me having a go at a fellow striker," he told Betfair. "I know how difficult it is.

"I remember when I was on a bad run at United when I hadn't scored for seven or eight games, but then scored five in one game. It happens to everyone.

"I know he's not scored for eight games, but I don't think the criticism of Lukaku is fair. As Jose Mourinho said, he's working very hard for the team, but this might actually be working against the striker.

"He wants to impress so badly that he is doing too much, and not doing the simple things like getting into the box.

In Pictures | Manchester United vs Juventus | 23/10/2018

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"He is probably over complicating things; you don't want to see him popping up at left-back as he did on Tuesday."

United had only two shots on target against Juventus and Berbatov admits the performance against the Italian giants wasn't good enough.

The Bulgarian does, however, think they squad can turn things around under Jose Mourinho.

"It wasn't a good performance from United, they need to improve in all areas of the pitch," he added.

"But they have the manager and the players and they will be putting pressure on themselves to get it right."

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