Romelu Lukaku is on a seven-game goal drought for Manchester United and didn't even touch the ball in the Chelsea penalty box... so is the £75m star just a flat-track bully?

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After an outstanding start to his Manchester United career, Romelu Lukaku put in his least effective performance in a red shirt to date against former club Chelsea on Sunday.

Not only did the Belgian striker extend his goal drought to seven games in the 1-0 reverse, but he failed to touch the ball in Chelsea's penalty area. He never looked a threat to Antonio Conte's drilled defence.

The £75million summer signing looked a snip after scoring 11 goals in his first 10 appearances, but has since dropped off the boil markedly. The key statistics reveal it is not just his goal-scoring that has worsened in recent weeks.

Romelu Lukaku has failed to score in his last seven appearances for Manchester United

That lies in stark contrast to his first 10 games, which reaped 11 goals for the Belgian striker

As Manchester United stormed through a run of relatively easy fixtures in the early parts of the season, Lukaku averaged 4.2 shots per game, 57 per cent of which were on target. 

Since last scoring – in a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace in September – his rate of shots has plummeted to just 1.7 per game, with only 41 per cent testing the goalkeeper. That's an average of less than one shot on target over 90 minutes. 

This, of course, is a problem that extends further than just Lukaku. After all, his chief playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan passed to him just six times in the game at Stamford Bridge, indicating the striker has been severely lacking in service.  

Acting in Lukaku's defence on Match of the Day 2, Alan Shearer insisted it was time for him to forget about creating and focus solely on rekindling his form in front of goal.

Lukaku's shooting rate has taken a dramatic tumble recently, falling to just 1.7 per game

The Belgian is averaging less than one shot on target per game since the start of October

Shearer said: 'When you're on a barren spell, forget everything about going out wide, about coming deep, thinking I'm not getting a touch of the ball.

'It's time to be selfish. Width of the 18-yard box, that's what he's got to think about.  Let the people create the chances for you. He's a goal-scorer and he’s getting judged on scoring goals.'

But another theory that appears to be gaining traction from critics is that Lukaku is simply a flat-track bully and bolsters his statistics by filling his boots against the so-called weaker clubs.

One damning statistic that appears to strengthen this view is the fact that he is yet to score against Chelsea in the Premier League, although Everton fans would be quick to remind us of the fantastic solo goal he scored against them in the FA Cup in 2016.

His goal record against the other top six clubs is hardly impressive either with only 15 goals to show from 53 games against Liverpool (5 goals), Manchester City (4), Manchester United (3), Arsenal (2) and Tottenham (1).

Compare that to his record against clubs that have recently been relegated and the evidence continues to stack up. He has 25 goals in the 40 games he has played against teams that are no longer in the top flight including eight in 10 against Sunderland and six in eight against Aston Villa.

What made matters worse for Lukaku against Chelsea was the fact that Alvaro Morata, who was £20m cheaper, put in a complete performance at the other end. 

Not only did he scored the winning goal with a world-class header but bullying the Manchester United defence throughout. In comparison, Lukaku found himself shoved out of the game by Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta and Gary Cahill.

Sportsmail's Chris Sutton wrote: 'He was bullied all afternoon by Christensen — on only his fourth league start for Chelsea — and Azpilicueta who is almost half a foot shorter.

'The accusation levelled at Lukaku is that he does not turn up for the big games. I do not like calling players out for a lack of effort but on this evidence, it is hard to argue.'

Lukaku found himself out-muscled by the inexperienced Andreas Christensen on Sunday

The slight Cesar Azpilicueta proved to be an immovable force in the heart of Chelsea's defence