Romelu Lukaku needs to step up, David Moyes’ limp Sunderland side have a chance against Manchester United and Bournemouth have a big part to play
Everton defended and broke superbly against Manchester United on Tuesday night but, though Ashley Williams’s rash handball attracted most of the attention, the game ought to have been over by then. That it was not was down in significant part to Romelu Lukaku’s chronically poor decision-making, on which numerous breaks foundered and which made his on-pitch dismissal of Williams difficult to understand. Impressed as he is with his own magnificence, in nine games against the division’s top six, Lukaku has mustered three goals, of which one was a late consolation. It is true that a flat-track bully is a useful attribute for any side, even those contesting the title, but he is not as invaluable to Everton as he appears to think. Against Leicester on Sunday his credentials will be examined once more. Though the champions are still only 11th in the table, they have won six straight games and are now the country’s most confident side. Lukaku will have far less space than at Old Trafford, which will test his other principal weakness: his touch. He would do well to improve that before publicly demeaning a team-mate whose contribution far exceeded his own. Daniel Harris
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