Man Utd star Romelu Lukaku: Premier League defences should worry about me and Rashford
GETTY Romelu Lukaku has said he and Marcus Rashford can strike up a formidable partnership
Fresh from his two-goal Premier League debut for Manchester United, the £75m new boy says he has already struck up a “special” relationship with wonder boy Marcus Rashford – and it will only get better. On the evidence of United’s 4-0 opening weekend win, West Ham will not be the only team to suffer at the hands of Lukaku and Rashford. Rashford set up Lukaku’s first goal and then won the free-kick from which the Belgian headed his second. Youngster Rashford was denied a richly-deserved goal himself when his shot hit the woodwork but his replacement Anthony Martial scored the third and then set up Paul Pogba for the fourth. “With me and Marcus, there’s something special,” said Lukaku. “Hopefully we can produce even more [in the future] than we did today. “We clicked from the first day that I arrived, and I knew that 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.” Lukaku is the fourth player to score twice on his Premier League debut for United, following Ruud Van Nistelrooy (2001), James Wilson (2014) and Rashford himself (2016) but admitted he was disappointed not to end with a hat-trick when Pablo Zabaleta’s desperate block stopping a goal-bound shot. “I wish it was three goals and a hat-trick to be fair,” he said. “I was thinking about [the third goal] – I am a striker so I am 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 am really happy that everybody performed well and that we’ve set a high standard.”
Manchester United fans go mad for Romelu Lukaku after goal against West Ham Sun, August 13, 2017 Romelu Lukaku has sent Manchester United fans crazy after scoring on his Premier League debut for the club against West Ham United Play slideshow 1 of 13
With me and Marcus, there’s something special Man Utd star Romelu Lukaku
No less an authority than Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s all-time record goaslscorer, praised Lukaku for a complete centre forward’s performance but the player himself was happy to see fellow summer signing Nemanja Matic collect the man of the match award. “Matic is a top-class player,” said Lukaku. “We needed a player like him and the game that he played was a man-of-the-match performance. “Offensively and defensively, he was there, making us tick. He gave midfielders the licence to go forward and the licence for Micki [Henrikh Mkhitaryan] to go forward, which was really good for us offensive players to have those type of players playing close to you. “He was the best player on the pitch, you have to be honest, and he will be really important for us in the future. Everybody’s delighted and next week is another challenge and we will have to be ready for that.”
GETTY Nemanja Matic put in a man-of-the-match performance against West Ham on his Man Utd debut
Matic also received praise from other team-mates who cannot believe Chelsea have allowed the Serbian to move to one of their main rivals after playing such a key part in their two title triumphs in the last three seasons. Attacking midfielder Mkhitaryan said: “Surprised we got him? Actually I am but at the same time I am very happy that we have got him. Matic does a big job on the pitch. He tries to recover all the balls. He defensively does a big job.” Defender Phil Jones said: “I thought Matic was terrific. His position on the pitch, his awareness, he understands the game and he is always in the right position.” The extra security provided by Matic will have the added benefit of improving Untied’s goal output because it will free up players like Pogba, Mkhitaryan and Juan Mata. United posted their second lowest tally in the Premier League era last season when they managed only 54 goals – over 30 behind top scorers Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City – and Jose Mourinho knows that must improve if they are to stand any chance of winning the title.