Romelu Lukaku has played a large part in Inter's Champions League run with three goals and an assist in the tournament and now they await who they'll face in the final between Real Madrid and Manchester City. It has been a season of adversity for the Belgian from dealing with injuries to handling racial abuse in Italy but he has bounced back to perform when it matters most for him and his team with three goals and one assist in his last three games for the club. Stretching things back a bit further, Lukaku has been involved in 11 goals during Inter's current unbeaten run that is on nine matches and counting.
After Tuesday's match Lukaku spoke to CBS Sports on the UEFA Champions League Post-Match show about what has made the team so good and was extremely candid while talking with Thierry Henry, touching on some of his personal struggles during the season.
"When I got injured, we didn't realize how tough of an injury it was because I'm an explosive type of player. So when you do your hamstring, it's very tough to come back and I forced it at the world cup," Lukaku said. "You guys could see. I was not sharp and then I had a relapse around January which cost me another month and a half and it was tough. I kept grinding, I kept working hard in training, and when I got the opportunity, I did the best I could for the team."
Lukaku: "I am very grateful to Thierry..." 🙏
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 16, 2023
Henry: "I texted him every single day to make sure he was OK" 📱
Thierry Henry is joined by Romelu Lukaku and explains how pleased he is to see the Belgium striker in a #UCL Final following his World Cup heartache. 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/2yInpnKvBm
Perseverance is always important for players but so is support and someone who has been there for Lukaku is his former coach with the Belgian national team and current CBS Sports analyst, Henry. It's being there on a personal level that has also been impactful.
"After the World Cup, it wasn't easy. Trust me and I won't go into details about what happened sometimes when we speak to each other," Henry said. "But, he came back. And it's the first time that I've seen him like that, against proper adversity, where he's slowly but surely coming back and showing that he can deliver no matter what, even when everyone's against him and that's a sign of greatness."
Being knocked out of the World Cup is always a tough moment for a player especially when they know that they couldn't bring their all during the competition. Putting that behind him has been a challenge, but now he's contributing to a team in the Champions League final. Lukaku went on to explain exactly how unlikely it's been that Inter's season has unfolded this way.
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"This year has been very complicated because we've been so inconsistent in the league. We have to be honest.
"But I think we've had a little turnaround in the last month in the league and the cups and everyone's doing their job. The manager has a rotation system and everyone is doing their job. You know who plays is doing his best for the team and the players that come in, they do their best. So we have a common goal."
Lukaku's explanation for why Inter are hitting their stride is enlightening. The talent has always been there but Simone Inzaghi using coordinated rotation has helped keep players fresh and in top form. Around 60 minutes or so into the match, Lukaku and Robin Gosens came into the match for Edin Dzeko and Federico Dimarco, eight minutes later, Inter were ahead 1-0.
Not only would both players be starting for most clubs -- possibly giving Inzaghi a tough decision to make for the Champions League final -- but they knew their roles and performed them exactly as needed to impact the game. Lukaku acknowledged that the team was trying to play the high press earlier in the season but switching to the counter attacking soccer that helped the club win the title two seasons ago under Antonio Conte is where Inzaghi has the team firing on all cylinders when it matters most.
While he has played a large role during this run, recurring hamstring injuries have kept Lukaku from making as much of an impact as he'd have wanted to during the season. But he, like Inter is rounding into form at exactly the right time.
