Football news - Romelu Lukaku: Cristiano Ronaldo told me Italy is the hardest place to score

Updated 24/12/2019 at 13:02 GMT

Romelu Lukaku has revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo told him that Italy is the most defensive league in the world.

Romelu Lukaku, Slavia Praga-Inter, Champions League, Getty Images

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Lukaku told the New York Times: "He told me this is the hardest defensive league in the world.

"He said he’d scored goals everywhere, but this was the toughest place to do it. And if Cristiano Ronaldo thinks it’s difficult, then it must be really difficult. It is harder than England.

"The football is more intense there, but here everything is pattern of play.”

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The former Manchester United striker moved in the summer and has since scored 10 goals so far this season.

Paul Pogba of Manchester United appears to argue with Romelu Lukaku during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United at Molineux on April 2, 2019 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.

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Lukaku complained that he and Paul Pogba were held responsible for the struggles of his former club.

Despite scoring 42 goals, he said: "It was always ‘Yes, but..’ right from the start.

"I scored against Real Madrid in the European Super Cup but missed a chance. It was: ‘But he missed that one.’ I scored against West Ham in my first Premier League game: ‘Yes, but…’

"From then on, I started to wonder how it was going to go. One year at United erased eight years prior to that. [Paul Pogba and I] were blamed for Manchester United’s fall."

Inter top Serie A ahead of the winter break in Italy, with the league returning on January 6.