United have the Special One - now meet the.. SPECIAL TWO
Lukaku predicting big things with his young Reds sidekick Rashford
MANCHESTER UNITED already have the selfappointed ‘Special One’ in boss Jose Mourinho.
But new-signing Romelu Lukaku believes he also has “something special” with teammate Marcus Rashford that can set the Reds apart this season.
Lukaku scored twice on his Premier League debut for United in their emphatic 4-0 win over West Ham, which put them top of the table.
Rashford set up Lukaku’s opener and the £75million striker believes the forward pair have struck up an understanding that can see United deliver success this term.
“With me and Marcus, there’s something special,” said former Everton hitman Lukaku. “Hopefully, we can produce even more in the future.
“We clicked from the first day I arrived, and I knew he would help me settle in at the club.
“I knew Jesse Lingard from before, and Paul Pogba, they’re probably my closest friends in the dressing room, but I get on with everybody in the team.”
Both Lukaku and Rashford, 19, excelled in United’s best performance and biggest league win under Mourinho, which has set the standard they must maintain for the rest of the season.
Lukaku could have become the first United player since Wayne Rooney to score a hattrick on his debut, but had to be content with a double.
And the 24-year-old, who scored 25 Premier League goals last season, revealed his regret at only scoring twice. “I wish it was three goals and a hat-trick, to be fair,” added Lukaku. “I was thinking about the third goal. I’m a striker, so I’m always thinking about scoring goals.
“Strikers are there to score goals and, if you stick to your job, you’re going to do well.
“But, at the end of the day, I want to win and the team wants to win.
“So I’m really happy that everybody performed well and that we’ve set a high standard.”
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who provided two assists in United’s win, believes the 20-time champions are finally ready to challenge for the title again under Mourinho (left). United’s last title triumph came in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season in 2013, since when they have finished seventh, fourth, fifth and sixth in the table. But the Reds look a different proposition this season, with Mkhitaryan confident they can take aim at winning the league. “We made a good start to the season,” said the Armenia midfielder. “Now we have to keep going.
“As a club, you’re going to have ups and downs. I think the last few years was a little bit down for the club but, since last year and this year, I hope we’re on the way up.
“We’ll do our best to bring the club to the level it was at before. It’s always hard, but we’ll try to do our best.”
On Lukaku, Mkhitaryan said: “It doesn’t matter how you score. The important thing is to score goals. He is going to score goals and is going to help us.”
Lukaku may have scored twice on his debut, but United’s most influential player was arguably another summer signing, Nemanja Matic, who joined from Chelsea for £40m.
Matic was pivotal to United’s win and Mkhitaryan echoed boss Mourinho by admitting he was shocked the west Londoners let a player of his calibre leave to join a title rival.
“Actually, I am surprised,” he added. “But I’m very happy that we’ve got him.”