'I'm learning a lot under Ole... he keeps me hungry': Romelu Lukaku praises Solskjaer after scoring brace in win over Crystal Palace as Manchester United stars check in for training
* Romelu Lukaku scored two goals in Manchester United's 3-1 win at Palace
* The Belgian ace played down the middle as Marcus Rashford started on bench
* Lukaku feels like he's learning a lot under stewardship of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
* Manchester United's first-team stars returned to training on Thursday morning
Romelu Lukaku was thrilled — and perhaps a little relieved — to finally make a telling contribution to the Manchester United revival under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Lukaku fired United into a two-goal lead against Crystal Palace on Wednesday and had a hand in the goal scored by Ashley Young which clinched a 3-1 win at Selhurst Park.
They were the first Premier League goals since early January for the Belgium international who seized a rare chance to shine at centre forward because Marcus Rashford was only fit enough to start on the bench.
'I just wanted to score, I'm a striker so I want to score goals,' said Lukaku. 'So I did what I had to do, but in the other goal I was involved in the build-up, and I created a couple of chances against Liverpool, so I knew it was coming. I'm happy that I helped the team.
'Football's not an individual sport, everybody tries to help. If you let your individual performances be more important than the team performance you'll not help the team. So for me it was all about doing my stuff for the team, so I'm happy I could help them win.
'I'm happy with my goals, happy with my performance, but I'm happy with the win. It was really important for us if you look at the other teams' results. We did what we had to do and now we have to keep going.'
Solskjaer has lifted the mood at Old Trafford with his natural energy, positive approach and respect for United's traditions.
He has also liberated players who appeared to have become stifled towards the end of Jose Mourinho's tenure, even those like Lukaku who have been restricted to fewer appearances because of Solskjaer's faith in Rashford.
'I like him,' said Lukaku. 'He's really open, really honest in his communication, and keeps me hungry.
'If you look at my career I've always had good strikers helping me, so now I'm here with Ole I'm learning a lot, and every day is another day to learn, another day to improve and that's how I see it.'
Manchester United are unbeaten in 11 Premier League games in 10 weeks under Solskjaer. They are fifth, a point behind Arsenal, with 10 games remaining and have their eyes on the top four.
Desire; the desire to improve and win games,' said Lukaku when asked about the secret to United's change in form.
'It's always, "next game, next game". We don't want to be like a couple of teams talking about things and not achieving; we want to do it game after game.
'It was time for other players to step up, which we did, and we won the game and now we have to move forward to the next game, hopefully keep the same level.
'Win games along the way, and when the injured players come back, that they help us to get where we want to get.'
Next up for Manchester United is Southampton at home on Saturday.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6755953/Romelu-Lukaku-lavishes-praise-Ole-Gunnar-Solskjaer-scoring-brace.html