Romelu Lukaku broke silence over the reason behind Paul Pogba taking the penalty in the final stages of the game against Southampton.
The Belgian forward scored a brace in the game and had an excellent chance to score his first hat-trick of the Manchester United career.
However, Paul Pogba took the penalty and tragically missed the spot-kick. It didn’t impact the result of the game as Manchester United scored the three points at Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is unbeaten in the Premier League ever since his appointment in December.
Many fans criticised Paul Pogba for taking the penalty as Lukaku looked to get his hat-trick. The Belgian striker missed the three goals earlier this week as well, when he scored a brace against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
However, Lukaku has now revealed that it has his decison to let Pogba take the penalty in the game.
“I am a striker and I wanted Paul Pogba to score the penalty,” Lukaku said.
“He has been on a good run but he has been an important player for us.”
The striker further stated that the side is ready for the game against Paris Saint Germain in France, as the side eyes a comeback in the tie.
“I was focussed on the win and help my team-mates. The manager gave me another chance today. We have to look one game at a time and are working hard on the training ground. We are ready for the challenge,” Lukaku said.
Solskjaer also praised the Manchester United forward for his excellent display against Southampton.
“He’s (Lukaku) a good finisher, he loves scoring goal. You can’t beat it. You see the way he celebrates every day in training,” Solskjaer said.
“Rom is a goalscorer, he keeps practicing every single day and has quality. When we changed to two up front that helped him as well. We had some great play at times, 3-2 we did it the hard way. That’s why we are turning grey.”
The Norwegian manager stated that the side is ready for the heavyweight clash on Wednesday night as Manchester United will aim to overturn a 2-0 deficit in Paris.
“I’ve got to enjoy every single second in this position. They deserved it for the energy, belief. Normally the Stretford end suck the ball in and today was the same. Great finishes. It does help with the support behind the goal.
“That dressing room is bouncing, full of belief, looking forward to Wednesday.”
The Norwegian caretaker manager also talked about Andreas Pereira, who put on another excellent display and also equalized for the side in the second half.
“So pleased for him (Andreas). He’s had a couple bad experiences here.
“He’s an academy kid, we’ve seen him through the years, he’s got quality. His strike is fantastic.”
Solskjaer insisted that the side has got “nothing to lose” against PSG.
“We have done fantastically well away from home but we go to PSG with the belief, we have nothing to lose. We will give it a go. This club has done so many great comebacks, the tie is not done.
“The belief is there, they have gone so long without losing games and are raring to go. They want to get on the ball and the confidence is high. They were class finishes from Romelu Lukaku and I am so pleased for Andreas Pereira.”
