Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba have both laughed off a report that they had a falling-out on Saturday.
Following Manchester United’s 3-2 victory over Southampton at the weekend, The Sun reported that Lukaku reacted furiously to Pogba’s insistence on taking a penalty late on in the game.
Lukaku was on a hat-trick when Pogba, United’s designated penalty-taker, stepped up and missed from 12 yards.
The report claims that Lukaku was incensed that his close friend, who was defended by the Belgian during Jose Mourinho’s time in charge at Old Trafford, refused to give Lukaku the opportunity to score his third of the match.
On Tuesday, however, Lukaku appeared to reject the suggestion that he had become so angry in the dressing room that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had to step in to restore order.
“When the hate don’t work they start telling lies,” Lukaku wrote on social media in a veiled dig at the newspaper.
And a few hours later, it became very clear who Lukaku was referring to as Pogba got in on the act to laugh along at the apparent misinformation.
Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur took the opportunity to remind supporters what Lukaku said immediately after Saturday’s win, pointing out that there was no hint of disappointment at missing out on the spot-kick.
This was Romelu Lukaku in the post match interviews on tv: “I am a striker and I wanted Paul Pogba to score the penalty, he has been on a good run but he has been an important player for us.” #mufc https://t.co/nGb9fXh0XO
— Kristof Terreur (@kristofterreur) March 5, 2019
