Having seen his country matched against Belgium for Thursday night’s Nations League semi-final, French defender Theo Hernandez has delivered a savage verdict on Romelu Lukaku’s performance.
Despite leading the game 2-0 at half-time, which included a goal from Lukaku, Belgium was left shell-shocked at the end of the 90-minutes after a stunning comeback from Les Bleus sent the Red Devils crashing out of the competition.
A trio of second-half strikes from veteran Karim Benzema, poster boy Kylian Mbappe and then Hernandez himself was enough to ensure Didier Deschamps’ side came away from the Allianz Stadium victorious.
However, despite what was a hugely exciting evening of footballing entertainment, one person who was left underwhelmed by the performance of one of his opponents was hero-of-the-night Hernandez.
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Speaking to reporters after the game, as quoted by RMC Sport’s Loic Tanzi, the AC Milan defender brutally suggested Lukaku went missing from the match.
Hernandez has been directly quoted as saying: “We know Lukaku, he is strong. But we saw him the first 20 minutes after he disappeared.”
Théo Hernandez : “On connait Lukaku, il est costaud. Mais on l’a vu les 20 premières minutes, après il a disparu” #equipedefrance
— Loïc Tanzi (@Tanziloic) October 8, 2021
It is not very often you hear a player speak so brutally about a fellow pro – however, given Lukaku’s successful history with Inter Milan, AC’s fierce rivals, it is perhaps unsurprising.