Romelu Lukaku insisted he had nothing to prove to his old club after his two spectacular late goals earned Everton the victory against Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday night.
The 22-year-old Belgian international had his path to first team football blocked at Stamford Bridge, moving to Goodison Park on a season-long loan before signing in a £28 million (Dh145.5m) permanent deal in the summer of 2014. Lukaku only ever made 10 first-team appearances in the Premier League with Chelsea during his three years of employ at the club, from 2011-14.
Now, with 25 goals for Everton this season, Roberto Martinez’s belief and investment in the striker looks sound, although the player himself insisted that he was not motivated by any sense of revenge in facing Chelsea.
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“I don’t think I have anything to prove,” said Lukaku. “Obviously there is a bit of emotion. I went there as an 18-year-old kid, that’s where I learned my trade to be a professional footballer.
“But I moved on, like they did. I wish them the best for the future but do my best for my team.
“I think the first goal is my best of the season but it’s just another goal.”
For his first, Lukaku made a mazy run in tho the box, displaying both power and skill in shrugging off Cesar Azpilicueta, evading a diving Branislav Ivanovic and breezing by a limp John Obi Mikel challenge. He then attacked Gary Cahill straight on, turning the England defender around and firing a left-footed shot past an oncoming Thibaut Courtois and into the right corner of the net.
The singular dominance of his first goal was contrasted nicely by the simple style of his second.
Taking a silky through ball from Ross Barkley, Lukaku confidently slotted past Courtois, again aggressively coming off his line, for the exclamation point into the opposite corner of the net from his first strike.
“I am just happy for the team, we really wanted to win today,” Lukaku said. “If you want to win cups, you have to win against the big teams and that’s what we did today.
“It feels great, I’m just happy for the team. It’s something we wanted and now we’re almost there, 90 minutes to go. We delivered a good performance today after the loss against West Ham.”
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