Jose Mourinho has hailed the prodigious work rate of striker Romelu Lukaku despite the striker's recent struggles in front of goal. This Belgian marksman had scored seven goals in seven league starts, but he has since scored only one goal in the next six Premier League matches.
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The 24-year-old endured another frustrating outing on Saturday, when United eked out a 1-0 home win against newly-promoted Brighton. Despite this goal drought, Mourinho has refused to criticise his No. 1 striker.
"In the last minute he was fighting and running back like he was in the first minute, so I think it is also a mentality question," Mourinho said of Lukaku.
"The way Romelu wins the corner for the goal, the way Romelu ends the game making tackles in the left-back position, that is the mentality I want. And, unfortunately, not every player is the same. Players are men, men are different. Men are unique cases.”
"Some guys are capable to go into the limits of their efforts and some other guys even with a lot of talent, they don't manage to do that. So Romelu, for me, fantastic. Didn't score, I don't care."
Mourinho has publicly questioned the mentality of some players during his time at United, but his frustrations have not been restricted to players alone. The Portuguese has also taken the United fans to task because of a perceived lack of support for Lukaku in the home match against Tottenham and some general impatience in the stands.
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"Honestly, it is quite a surprise for me but I think the supporters were fantastic," Mourinho said after the Brighton match. "We had matches at home where we played really, really well and they were a bit soft. And today they were behind the team. The team was not playing well, the team was 0-0, they support the team, they support the players."
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