Romelu Lukaku has hit back at Manchester United legend Gary Neville after he said the striker had "no influence" on the Red Devils' 0-0 draw with Liverpool on Saturday. 

Per The Sun's Alec Shilton, he said:

"A lot of strikers in the league miss bigger chances than me. But with me it's always: 'Rom did this, Rom did that.' I don't know why. It's the standard people set.

"Knowing that you are going to score and that you are going to miss has to be the striker's biggest strength but every time I miss people put it like this [exaggerate].

"My price tag is always put out. I accept that as a matter of fact. I'm always relaxed."

Lukaku added his "Premier League record is pretty good" and pointed to his goal against Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup in the summer as evidence he can deliver in high-pressure games:

"I don't put pressure on myself. The biggest pressure for me came in the European Super Cup against Real Madrid (in August) as that was the game when everyone was looking at me thinking, 'Will he do it there?'

"That game (in which he scored in a 2-1 defeat) freed me from everything."

In his capacity as a Sky Sports pundit, Neville said he was disappointed in the Belgian, per Anthony Jepson of the Manchester Evening News.

The former Old Trafford defender said:

"It looked like he was distracted in the first half, he wasn't himself, he was frustrated. He really didn't get any impact in the game, no influence.

"It's the big matches that will define him as a Manchester United striker, not the matches where he sort of bullies teams."

The 24-year-old was anonymous at Anfield and did not touch the ball until the 17th minute of the match.

ESPN FC's Janusz Michallik and Dominic King of the Daily Mail also demonstrated his lack of involvement in the game:

Lukaku had one clear-cut chance to score but fired straight at Simon Mignolet, and his goal record against the Premier League's "big six" does not make for inspired reading. Per Shilton, his record drops from a goal every 136 minutes in the English top flight to one every 289 minutes against the top sides.

James Sharpe of the Leicester Mercury further illustrated his struggles in recent years:

The striker has room to improve, but he does not deserve too much criticism. He has hit the ground running at Old Trafford and has bagged 11 goals in as many games.

This was United's first major test this season—the first league game in which they have faced a team placed 12th or higher—and manager Jose Mourinho approached the match with the aim of frustrating Liverpool rather than capitalising on Lukaku's form and their opponents' defensive frailty.

As such, the team were not set up to facilitate the kind of dominant performance the former Everton man can produce. Football writer Liam Canning noted as much:

While the striker perhaps lacked his clinical finishing when presented with his one chance, he has missed the same number of clear-cut chances as Sergio Aguero this season: five. That's only one more than Harry Kane and Alvaro Morata, and he's outscored all of them, per the Premier League's official website.

United needed to recruit someone in the summer who could score against smaller teams and give them an edge week to week, which they struggled with last year as they were held to 15 draws in the league.

In Lukaku they have done just that, and he's already having a profound effect on the side and their title chances.

With a more positive approach to bigger games, it's likely his record in those will also improve.