In the Nerazzurri’s three seasons at La Scala del Calcio he scored 39 of his 78 goals. Relentless in the year of the Scudetto with Conte, in 2022-23 it was he who gave them passage to the quarter-finals by knocking out Porto
They will boo him, he has been anticipating this for some time, ever since last summer he decided to turn his back on Inter and its fans. Romelu Lukaku, however, is not intimidated by the treatment he will receive today at San Siro. Indeed… The Meazza is a stadium that he likes a lot and inspires him. The numbers say it: of the 78 goals scored with the Nerazzurri shirt, half were scored at the Scala del Calcio. A facility where the people of Inter faith made him feel like a King and crowned him Mauro Icardi’s successor. He was also forgiven for his first betrayal, the one in 2021 to return to Chelsea. The second… no.
IMPLACABLE
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In the 2020-21 championship year, with Antonio Conte on the bench, the Belgian was a statement at San Siro: there he scored 16 of his 24 league goals, deciding the matches against Turin, Naples, Spezia, Sassuolo and Lazio, but also beating the opposing goalkeeper against Fiorentina, Milan, Bologna, Crotone, Benevento, Genoa, Roma and Udinese. At the Meazza he played a total of 69 games, including 4 at Milan (3 in the league and one in the Champions League). In all, as mentioned, he scored 39 goals at La Scala del Calcio: 30 in Serie A, 5 in the Champions League, 1 in the Europa League and 3 in the Italian Cup. Among the goals in Europe to remember the one in 2022-23, in the first leg of the round of 16 against Porto, a strike that proved decisive in getting through to the next round.
IBRA AND MURALS
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At San Siro, dressed in Nerazzurri, Big Rom felt invincible and even had the courage to challenge Ibrahimovic, his former teammate at Manchester United. The head-to-head (complete with insults and threats) between the two in the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup was memorable: it was January 26, 2021 and in that match the Swede (later sent off for a double yellow card) broke the deadlock (1-0) , the Belgian equalized from a penalty (1-1), before Eriksen’s free kick in the last minute of added time (2-1). The duel between Zlatan and Romelu also ended up on a mural near San Siro, but another one was also dedicated to Big Rom (very large; with him from behind, turning his arms and looking at the sky after a goal), then canceled after the first betrayal, in summer 2021. Last season he didn’t have time to earn another mural because he was often injured and finished with 14 goals, 6 of which at the Meazza. The stadium that he made vibrate with his goals and that today will boo him without mercy.