Romelu Lukaku clenched both fists and raised his arms in celebration. He looked happier than he had for ages on a football field, his face unadulterated joy as he stood in front of the 3,000 raucous Manchester United fans at Selhurst Park on Wednesday evening. His side had just gone 3-1 up after 83 minutes with a goal from Ashley Young, with the Belgian setting up the United captain. United were on their way to an eighth successive away - a new club record.
Minutes earlier, those fans in the Arthur Wait Stand had been singing “Rom, Rom, Romelu, Romelu Lukaku. Man United’s number nine, Romelu Lukaku.” Lukaku had scored the first two goals, after 33 and 52 minutes, the first time he had found the net in the Premier League since a 2-0 win at Newcastle United on January 2.
He lost his place in the side to Marcus Rashford, one of the best players in United's resurgence under Norwegian manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Lukaku, at £75 million (Dh366m) the second most expensive player in United's history, had suffered second season syndrome at United after a successful first term when he scored 27 times. Jose Mourinho played him so much that he looked exhausted and short of confidence, his body language one of frustration and blame as he failed to make runs and hinted that his teammates were not playing to his strengths. In fairness, it wasn't easy for any striker playing in a low-scoring, pragmatic side which worried first about their opponents over their own strengths. The sight of an isolated Lukaku against Seville last year, without another United player within 30 metres of him, was one of the saddest of the season. Even Lionel Messi couldn't have worked his magic in those circumstances.
Talking about the player he was delighted to sign last year, one whose size he marvelled at, Mourinho said strikers were judged on goals at a time when they weren’t coming for Lukaku. He has suffered a drought this season too. Talk of him leaving Old Trafford was greeted with shrugs from fans who had failed to warm to him, but his scoring record stands up to scrutiny and at Palace he scored two fine goals. And he did it playing as the lone striker in an injury-hit side missing five of their six regular forwards at the start of the game.
"Very good finishes," Solskjaer said. "First one right foot, second one he had a lot to do. A great finish, so I'm very pleased for him. He's played wide left, wide right and tonight he got the No 9 shirt and he's worked hard."
Solskjaer also applauded Lukaku's link-up play. “He is working hard in training and has been playing well. He's had to play wide for me and had many defensive duties, so I’m happy for him playing as a No 9.
“It’s always good to see players taking their chance. That's what it's about at this club - when you get your chance, grab it.”
A delighted man-of-the-match Lukaku added: “I was waiting for a chance, as a centre-forward I got the chance today and I’m really happy to help the team win the games. Like I said it doesn’t matter if I play left, right or up front, I always try to do my best for the team.”
It was his eighth away goal, the same number as Huddersfield Town have managed on the road all season. His twin strikes against Palace meant that it was also the seventh consecutive season than Lukaku has scored 10 or more league goals. He is still only 25.
United need more than one No 9; they need both Rashford and Lukaku. Lukaku played 51 club games last season – too many. Mourinho left him out of the FA Cup final, a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Both have skill sets as different as their physiques, but top-level goalscorers are hard to find. Strikers will have lean spells and Rashford won’t always be the man of the moment, as he is now, but both will be needed and if the Belgian can continue his scoring touch he can become yet another United player to have improved under the new boss. And then his United future will look far brighter than it did a month ago.
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The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
Results
International 4, United States 1
Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods (US) beat Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann (International) 4 and 3.
Adam Hadwin and Sungjae Im (International) beat Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay (US) 2 up.
Adam Scott and Byeong Hun An (International) beat Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau (US) 2 and 1.
Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan (International) beat Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed (US) 1 up.
Abraham Ancer and Louis Oosthuizen (International) beat Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland (US) 4 and 3.
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
PAST 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2012 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2011 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2010 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Born in Dibba, Sharjah in 1972.
He is the eldest among 11 brothers and sisters.
He was educated in Sharjah schools and is a graduate of UAE University in Al Ain.
He has written poetry for 30 years and has had work published in local newspapers.
He likes all kinds of adventure movies that relate to his work.
His dream is a safe and preserved environment for all humankind.
His favourite book is The Quran, and 'Maze of Innovation and Creativity', written by his brother.
India cancels school-leaving examinations
RESULT
Chelsea 2
Willian 13'
Ross Barkley 64'
Liverpool 0
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Raghida, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer) 5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi 6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,200m
Winner: Basmah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel 6.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 2 (PA) Dh300,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel 7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar 7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Trolius, Ryan Powell, Simon Crisford
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
Key findings of Jenkins report
Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
