Everton striker Romelu Lukaku glad to have ended goal drought
Wednesday 9 November 2016 16:27, UK
Romelu Lukaku is confident his season is now up and running after he scored a hat-trick in the 3-0 win at Sunderland on Monday Night Football.
The Belgium international had not scored a Premier League goal since March when he struck for the first time at the Stadium of Light on his way to an 11-minute treble.
That has encouraged the 23-year-old, who is now keen to add more to his tally, starting with the visit of Middlesbrough on Saturday.
"I am back in business now. Physically I needed one more week [before the international break] but I'm happy, I've got the goals flowing now," Lukaku told Everton TV.
"I'm back in business and I want to help my team-mates as much as I can to achieve our objectives."
Everton boss Ronald Koeman challenged his players to secure European football after seeing them take their tally for the season to 10 points from a possible 12 with victory at the Stadium of Light.
However, it proved to be a frustrating start to the evening for the Dutchman, who was less than impressed with what he saw in the opening 45 minutes as the sides went in goalless at the break.
"In the first half, everybody was running through the middle and we made it easy for Sunderland," added Lukaku.
"We didn't capitalise on possession, the last pass wasn't there but the defence was brilliant, like they have been since the start of the season.
"But in the second half, we made the pitch big, everyone was playing their position and we created so many chances. It showed what we can do. If we exploit the spaces on the pitch, we can do a lot of good things."
