ROMELU LUKAKU’S LACK of movement is making it easy for defenders to mark the striker, according to former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.
United failed to secure their second win in the Champions League this season after another disappointing performance in front of the home faithful on Tuesday night against Valencia.
Jose Mourinho’s men won 3-0 against Young Boys on matchday one but were unable to create as many clear-cut opportunities against the Spanish outfit at Old Trafford.
The result compounded a nightmare last 10 days for the Portuguese boss, as his team extended their winless run to four games in all competitions.
Lukaku led the line for the Red Devils once again, but he failed to find the net for the fifth game in succession and Ferdinand was adamant that he needs to be more dynamic in the final third of the pitch.
“When the ball is developing more in central areas of the pitch he just stands and really he’s got to be moving even if he’s sometimes standing offside,” he told BT Sport post-match.
“Make defenders think, and at the moment defenders are seeing exactly where he is, he’s not moving so you know what he’s doing and for a defender that’s a dream.
“You need players moving in behind, making your defender changing position and changing the eyeline.”
Ferdinand was undoubtedly one of the best defenders in England back in his heyday and managed to win six Premier League titles during his time at Old Trafford.
The pundit went on to question Mourinho’s tactics against Valencia, suggesting that the 55-year-old coach might be trying to manufacture a way out of the club.
“Some of his actions, some of the things that he says,” Ferdinand continued.
“You lose the game 3-1 (at West Ham last Saturday) and it’s evident to everybody in that stadium or anyone around the world that watched that game that the attitude of the players and the intensity that they played, was wrong. It was off.
“He came out and said ‘it actually wasn’t a problem for me’. I don’t know what game he was watching.
“And he started talking about the network of scouts for the other team, picking fights with places that is so off-key and out of sorts that you think ‘you must be searching for the sack the way you’re talking’.”
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