Romelu Lukaku is without a goal in his last five matches for United (Picture: Getty)

Paul Scholes jumped to Romelu Lukaku’s defence following some strong criticism from Manchester United fans for his recent performances.

Jose Mourinho slammed supporters for giving Lukaku a hard time in the side’s 1-0 defeat of Tottenham at the weekend and claimed the forward is ‘untouchable’ after his barnstorming start to life at Old Trafford.

United legend Scholes believes the criticism began during the goalless draw with Liverpool and partly blames Henrikh Mkhitaryan for failing to support Lukaku at Anfield.

Ahead of United’s clash with Benfica on Tuesday night, BT Sport pundit Scholes said: ‘He surprised me a little but by his start at United.

Paul Scholes hit out at United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Picture: Getty)
Henrikh Mkhitraryan has struggled for form this season (Picture: Getty)

‘I think the criticism came from the Liverpool game where his hold-up play wasn’t great.

‘I don’t think Mkhitaryan helped him and he hasn’t had much support since then.

‘He has to be strong and use his frame and he does have to get better but he does need support as well.’

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