Romelu Lukaku enjoyed a dream Premier League debut for Manchester United as the Belgian’s brace inspired a 4-0 rout of West Ham.
United manager Jose Mourinho paid a British record £75 million ($96 million, 82 million euros) to sign Lukaku from Everton in the close-season and the 24-year-old needed just 33 minutes to get off the mark for his new club.
Accelerating on Marcus Rashford’s pass, Lukaku drilled a powerful strike in off the post to put United ahead in their Premier League opener at Old Trafford.
Lukaku was virtually unplayable at times and he doubled United’s advantage in the 53rd minute with a bullet header from Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s free-kick.
Substitute Anthony Martial added United’s, slotting past Joe Hart in the 87th minute, before Paul Pogba’s 90th minute strike sent Mourinho’s men to the top of the table above Huddersfield on goal difference.
Once sold by Mourinho when the pair were at Chelsea together, Lukaku could be the catalyst for a first serious title challenge from United since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
“To play in front of such a crowd is a dream come true but most important is the three points,” Lukaku said.
“When you play for Manchester United, you have a job to do and mine is to score goals.”
Lukaku wasn’t the only impressive United debutant, with Nemanja Matic delivering a solid display that underlined why Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was so miffed his club sanctioned the £40 million sale of the Serbia midfielder to a title rival.
“We did not start especially well, we looked nervous but then we put in a quality performance,” Mourinho said.
“A word that I like is confidence, they played with confidence and played football. It was a very positive performance.”
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