On Saturday, Inter Milan lost 1-0 at home to Fiorentina with Giacomo Bonaventura scoring the solitary goal in the second half at the San Siro.
Despite having the chance to score, Romelu Lukaku missed a straightforward opportunity.
Inter has lost four out of their last five league matches and slipped to third place in the Serie A table behind Lazio.
Inter is now in a race to qualify for next season’s Champions League, with Atalanta, Milan, and Roma all within three points of them – and both Milan and Roma still have games in hand.
Saturday’s game could have had a different outcome for Inter if they had capitalized on their chances.
Lukaku missed a prime opportunity just minutes before Bonaventura scored the decisive goal.
Inter Milan showcased a decent display of teamwork as they advanced the ball toward Fiorentina’s goal, and Alessandro Bastoni supplied a well-placed pass across the face of the goal for Lukaku.
Unfortunately, Lukaku’s attempt to tap the ball into the net with his left foot resulted in a near-miss, leaving everyone in disbelief.
It was an unexpected and disappointing moment for Inter and Lukaku as it was a golden opportunity missed.
VIDEO: Lukaku’s shocking miss for Inter vs Lazio
ROMELU LUKAKU, £100M WORTH OF FINISHING 😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/vGrfmRGOqO
— Football Report (@FootballReprt) April 1, 2023
It proved costly, too.
Will Lukaku return to Chelsea?
Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker, is currently playing on loan for Inter Milan from Chelsea.
However, there are doubts surrounding his permanent stay at Stamford Bridge. Recently, Chelsea manager Graham Potter was questioned regarding Lukaku’s future at the London-based club.
“Well, he’s still a Chelsea player and we’re monitoring him of course,”Potter said on Friday. “We understand where he’s at, he’s on loan, those decisions will be made in the summer. He’s a fantastic player, someone who we know and like.
“But again, we need to speak about that in the summer because he’s playing on loan for his club.”
Earlier this month, Inter’s chief executive, Beppe Marotta, admitted they won’t be signing Lukaku on a permanent basis.
“The loan was for one season so on June 30 regardless of how well he plays, he’ll go back to Chelsea,” admitted Marotta. “This has been an unprecedented season. I’m referring of course to the World Cup.
“The problems we’ve experienced have been experienced by other clubs too and the players who played at the World Cup… Lukaku hasn’t found the fitness he needs to play his best football. He’s still not at his best or the player we got to see in years gone by.”
While Lukaku was missing a sitter for Inter on Saturday, Chelsea were losing 2-0 at home to Aston Villa.
It was a result that saw Chelsea drop to the bottom half of the table and heap even more pressure on Potter.