Last Wednesday the Belgian came off the bench for the final 20 minutes of Inter’s thrilling 3-3 draw against Benfica, a result that secured them a mouthwatering Champions League semi-final tie against their city neighbours AC Milan. Lukaku had scored a penalty in the first leg in Lisbon, won 2-0 by Inter.

Then on Sunday he was named in the starting XI and rewarded manager Simone Inzaghi with two well-taken goals against Empoli that laid the platform for a much-needed win, Inter’s first in six Serie A fixtures.

For the first, shortly before the break, Lukaku played a one-two on the edge of the box and fired a low right-footed drive into the far corner from 17 yards out (pictured top).

He signalled his intent for more with a powerful run and shot that whistled past the post, before doubling his and Inter’s tally with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining. Lukaku collected the ball in the left channel, drove into the box, engineered space away from a defender and smashed a thunderous effort into the far corner. It was Lukaku at his best, and there was still time for him to set up Lautaro Martinez’s late third.

The result keeps Inter in sixth spot, two points off fourth and with it Champions League football for next season. They can of course also secure that outcome by winning the competition this year.

Those were Lukaku’s eighth and ninth goals of the season and his first not scored from the penalty spot in Serie A since the opening day back in August.

Later on Sunday night, the EFL Team of the Season line-ups were announced with our own Ian Maatsen, on loan at Burnley, named in the Championship side at left-back.

The Dutch defender has featured in 36 of Burnley’s 43 league games so far, excelling with his speed, defensive discipline, and final-third threat. He has scored four goals and assisted a further six for a Clarets side that secured promotion to the Premier League with four weeks to spare. They will be crowned champions if they win at Ewood Park tonight.

Maatsen’s manager Vincent Kompany was named Championship Manager of the Season and his team-mates Connor Roberts, Josh Brownhill and Nathan Tella were also included in the best team.

Congratulations, Ian!