NO STOPPING LETHAL LUKAKU
IT seemed a diplomatic gesture when the home side’s coach observed in his programme notes: ‘Manchester United have been in search of their new self since Alex Ferguson’s retirement, and now they seem to be almost there.’
By the end of the night, there was a genuine sense he might just be right.
The six years since Fergie walked away have not been entirely devoid of success on foreign soil in the Champions League.
The 5-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen in November 2013 was a footnote to the David Moyes era. But here was a balance of attacking force and defensive durability which suggested a corner has been turned.
Although Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial eviscerated the Russian defence, Henrikh Mkhitaryan eclipsed all others. Stout defending was also required against a side which, despite the scoreline, were clever around the box.
United ran out in light grey and white shorts for the first time since that infamous day in April 1996 when Sir Alex ordered them to change to blue at half-time, although they failed to recover a 3-0 deficit and ended up losing 3-1.
United led 3-0 at the interval this time. Lukaku sent a whipped pass out to Anthony Martial before sprinting into the six-yard box to receive it back and head his side 1-0 up after four minutes.
Mkhitaryan’s driving run into the area won the penalty that Martial converted after 18 minutes.
When a Martial cross on 26 minutes produced an airshot from Vasili Berezutski, Lukaku was waiting to tap home his tenth goal in nine games.
Mkhitaryan put the seal on his own night with the fourth goal before the hour.
Lurking on the left hand side of the area, he clipped the ball home from a narrow angle after a Martial shot was blocked.
Moscow pulled back a goal at the death thanks to Konstantin Kuchaev but it couldn’t hide the scale of United’s victory.
Reflecting on Lukaku’s latest scoring display, United boss Jose Mourinho said: ‘Lukaku has a great record. We know he is a very good player who can score lots of goals.
‘He is surrounded by quality players.’ CSKA MOSCOW (3-5-2): Akinfeev; Vasin, V Berezutsky, Ignashevich; Fernandes, Dzagoev (Milanov 72), Wernbloom, Golovin, Schennikov; Chalov (Zhamaletdinov 67), Vitinho (Kuchaev 84). Scorer: Kuchaev 90. Booked: Golovin, Wernbloom, Vitinho. MANCHESTER UNITED (3-4-3): De Gea; Bailly, Lindelof, Smalling; Young (Darmian 67), Matic, Herrera, Blind; Mkhitaryan (Lingard 60), Lukaku, Martial (Rashford 72). Scorers: Lukaku 4, 26, Martial 18 pen, Mkhitayran 57. Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Swe). Att: 28,000.