Romelu Lukaku dedicates his penalty to former team-mate Christian Atsu
‘Rest easy brother. This is a hard one to take’: Romelu Lukaku dedicates Inter Milan penalty against Udinese to former Everton team-mate Christian Atsu, after his tragic death in Turkey earthquake
- On Saturday, representatives for Christian Atsu confirmed his death aged 31
- Later that day, Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku dedicated his penalty goal to Atsu
- The pair were teammates during the 2014-15 season at Premier League Everton
Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring for Inter Milan on Saturday night – and dedicated the penalty to his former teammate Christian Atsu.
Earlier on Saturday, representatives for Atsu confirmed his body had been found under rubble 12 days after a huge earthquake devastated Turkey, where the Ghanaian was playing for Hatayspor.
It was the 31-year-old’s latest club in a storied career, which included stints with Premier League clubs Newcastle United, Bournemouth and Everton – and it was at the latter where he played alongside Lukaku.
The Belgian striker is now on loan at Inter Milan, and scored his second goal for the club with a penalty to open the scoring against Udinese. Lukaku saw his 20th minute penalty saved, but was able to convert when the kick had to be retaken.
Inter Milan finished the game as 3-1 winners despite the clash being level at half-time. It leaves the club second in the Serie A table, 15 points behind runaway leaders Napoli.
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Romelu Lukaku pointed his fingers to the sky to pay tribute to Christian Atsu after scoring
Atsu, who was a former teammate at Everton, was confirmed to have died in an earthquake
After the successful kick, Lukaku pointed his fingers to the sky in tribute to Atsu, and then post-match, he made a post to Instagram paying tribute to his former teammate.
The 29-year-old wrote: ‘Rest easy brother. This one is a hard one to take … It was amazing to be around you. You’re humbleness and love for God. The way how you worked in training. The love you had for your family and kids.
‘May God give all the strength to your kids and family … God bless your soul. Love you always.’
Lukaku gave Inter the lead against Udinese through a retaken penalty in the 20th minute
Atsu had been playing club football in Turkey since he joined Hatayspor in September 2022
The Belgian shared two pictures of the pair of them together in happier times at Everton, where Atsu made five loan appearances in the 2014-15 season.
Lukaku also shared a picture of his tribute after the goal, his first at the San Siro this season. On his Instagram story, he captioned it: ‘love you brother’.
Other members of the global football family have come together to pay their respects to Atsu, including ex-Chelsea captain John Terry, who hailed the Ghanaian as ‘one of the nicest people in football’.
Meanwhile, Allan Saint-Maximin, Rafa Benitez and Eddie Howe were among those to make tributes to Atsu ahead of Newcastle’s game with Liverpool on Saturday.
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