Lukaku joins Eto'o, Ronaldo and Milito in exclusive Inter club with Europa League goal

Romelu Lukaku joined an exclusive club on Wednesday as the Belgian striker scored Inter's first of two goals in a 2-0 Europa League triumph over Getafe.

Lukaku scored in the first half of the match, helping guide Inter to the quarterfinals of the competition.

The goal was the Belgian striker's 30th of the season, with the striker scoring 23 of those goals in Serie A.

It's the first time that the striker has eclipsed the 30-goal mark in his career, as Lukaku's previous career high of 27 goals came in 2017-18, his first season with Manchester United.

Having hit the 30-goal mark, Lukaku became the first Inter striker to score that many goals since Samuel Eto'o in 2010-11, when the striker famously netted 37 times just one season after Inter claimed an historic treble.

Lukaku also joined the likes of Diego Milito and Ronaldo as players to have scored 30 goals for Inter over the last 30 seasons.

Like Ronaldo, Lukaku reached the 30-goal landmark in his first season with the club, with the Brazilian firing 34 goals in his first season after joining from Barcelona.

In addition to equalling legendary figures like Eto'o, Ronaldo and Milito, Lukaku also equalled a mark last set by Newcastle and Blackburn icon Alan Shearer.

With Wednesday's goal, Lukaku has scored in his last eight Europa League matches, equalling the record for the longest streak in the competition set by Shearer in 2005 as the Newcastle star went on to score 11 times in just nine matches.

Lukaku's streak extends back to his time with Man Utd, but his three-goal haul this season makes him the first Inter player to score at least three goals in the competition since Rodrigo Palacio in 2014-15.

In total, the Belgian international has been involved in 35 of Inter's 104 goals scored this season across all competitions.

Christian Eriksen provided Inter's second goal in the 2-0 win, as the former Tottenham star has now been directly involved in five goals in his last four appearances in Europa League.

Having taken down Getafe, Inter will now look ahead towards the quarterfinal round, where they will face Rangers or Bayer Leverkusen, with the German side holding a 3-1 lead from the first leg.