Lukaku and Man United make opening statement
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND— New signing Romelu Lukaku scored twice and Paul Pogba capped an ominous team display with a long-range strike as Manchester United beat West Ham 4-0 in their opening game of the Premier League season on Sunday.
With off-season recruit Nemanja Matic also excelling in central midfield, United looks to have a side that can seriously challenge for its first league title since 2013, Alex Ferguson’s final year at the club.
Lukaku finished off a quick counterattack — sparked by Matic’s closing-down of an opponent in the centre circle — to put United ahead in the 33rd minute. The striker added a second in the 52nd.
Anthony Martial ran onto Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s through-ball to slot home a third goal in the 87th and Pogba curled in from 25 metres, completing United’s biggest league win under Jose Mourinho.
“We have reasons to be optimistic,” Mourinho said, adding: “My feet are on the ground and I am calm.”
Yet this was a display to strike fear into United’s title rivals — especially champion Chelsea, which was beaten to the signing of Lukaku and then sold Matic to United.
Matic was dynamic in the midfield, breaking up attacks, winning headers and giving Pogba room to attack.
Lukaku has now scored nine goals in nine Premier League games against West Ham, and 11 goals in 11 games in all competitions.