Pundit claims Romelu Lukaku was bullied by Man City rival

Alan Shearer claims Romelu Lukaku was “bullied” and “dominated” by Nicolas Otamendi during Sunday’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

The £75million United frontman had a poor game and his performance raised serious questions, according to our Monday Verdict.

And discussing the former Everton man’s display, Shearer, writing in his column for BBC Sport, had some cutting words.

“I have some sympathy for Lukaku because of the number of long balls that were being pumped up to him, particularly in the first half when the distance between him and his midfield was huge,” Shearer said.

“Even if he had been able to bring the ball down and hold it up – which he wasn’t – it was asking a lot for him to do that for long enough for any support to arrive.

“But he still could have done a lot better at leading the line because his general play was poor. He did not run the channels and he did not offer any movement behind the City defence.

 

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“On top of that, he was bullied by Otamendi throughout the game and was nowhere near strong enough when balls were played up to him.”

Shearer continued: “As a centre-forward, when you are going head-to-head with a centre-half like that, you want to know that you have come off at the end of the game having won your battle with him.

“Sadly for Lukaku, Otamendi dominated him rather than the other way around.”