AS Roma thrashed Brighton by 4-0 in the UEL round of 16

The 30-year-old Romelu Lukaku feels the positive impact of Daniele De Rossi's presence as AS Roma coach. The striker admitted that he received different instructions from De Rossi compared to the Jose Mourinho era. The Belgian striker played an important role when AS Roma won over Brighton in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 on Thursday (07th March 2024), Lukaku scored one goal and The Hosts won 4-0.

For Lukaku, it was the fourth goal he has scored since De Rossi was appointed as coach. Apart from scoring four goals, the Belgian player also made two assists for Roma at first glance, it seems there is nothing different between Mourinho's Lukaku and De Rossi. He remains the main focus on the front lines however, Lukaku explained that he had a very different task. De Rossi brought many changes to Roma and he abandoned the 3-5-2 formation used in the Mourinho era and chose a 4-3-3 formation. De Rossi also made Roma play more aggressively and aim for more goals rather than conceding less.

The change in playing style has had an impact on Lukaku's duties as a striker. "The coach gave me more freedom in the central area and to press upwards. I had to attack the space, whereas previously I was asked to hold the ball," said Lukaku. "This is the first time I have been placed as the only centre forward in Italy, but I can adapt well and hope we can continue to develop," he continued.

Romelu Lukaku scored 10 goals in Serie A, the same as the record achieved with Inter Milan last season. However, Lukaku made a more special note when playing in the Europa League. From the eight matches played, including two play-off round matches, he was able to score seven goals and one assist. Lukaku only failed to score or assist in two matches, against Feyenoord and Slavia Prague. In the 2023/2024 Europa League season, there is only one forward sharper than Lukaku. That striker is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has scored nine goals with Marseille.