Romelu Lukaku has hailed the impact of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United's upturn continued at Selhurst Park last night.
Lukaku scored two goals in a 3-1 win, his first strikes since early January, looking once again like a player who could lead the line for United.
In recent weeks he has been forced out wide by the form of Marcus Rashford, but with the England international on the bench last night Luaku was front and central once again, and rewarded his manager's faith.
Speaking afterwards, Lukaku said that it was "really helpful" to have such a famous striker as his coach. He has worked closely with Thierry Henry for the Belgian national team, and this collaboration is having a similarly positive impact.
"If you look at my career I've always had good strikers helping me, so now I'm here with Ole I'm learning a lot. Every day is another day to learn, another day to improve, and that's how I see it."
Even though Lukaku has not shone as brightly as Rashford and Anthony Martial in recent weeks, the forward hailed his manager on a personal level. "I like him," he said. "He's really open, really honest in his communication, and keeps me hungry, so whenever I get a chance to play I just want what's best for the team and to help the team win."
That praise went both ways, with Solksjaer speaking in warm terms about Lukaku's own attitude and patience over recent weeks.
"He's a professional boy, a good boy," Solskjaer said. "It's great to have him in and around the place, he's always happy, he's always working on his finishing. He's done loads of running up and down the line, on the right wing, left wing, he's had a different role because Rash's form.
“Here he got a chance up front, two very good finishes, could have had another one as well earlier on. So I am very pleased for Rom, he is a quality finisher."
