United need to feed the beast
The pressure was mounting on Romelu Lukaku ahead of Sunday’s clash with West Ham United after both Alvaro Morata and Alexandre Lacazette – with whom he is in some fabricated, kind of childish three-way battle – scored on their Premier League debuts. But the Belgian, with the watching world ready to pounce, was a completely unflustered figure, claiming two goals that nodded towards the sort of threat Manchester United can be this season.
His first came following a superb break, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Nemanja Matic either side and Marcus Rashford steaming through the middle after winning the ball on the half way line, before the teenager supplied the Belgian with the perfect ball to swipe home. This was exactly what United supporters – and Mourinho – will want to see this season: direct, lethal, devastatingly fast and, crucially, with end product.
The second was straight out of the striker’s textbook: an angled header using the pace of the ball to kill the game off. Lukaku demonstrated on his very first United outing the markings of a ruthlessly bullish striker; he creates avenues through which to score that simply weren’t available last season.
Surely Mourinho, before the window ends, will do whatever it takes to bring in a traditional winger capable of launching pin-point crosses in his direction. His talent is too precious to waste.
Magic does free up Pogba – but now how you might think
Talk before the game revolved around how the stalwart influence of Matic would give Paul Pogba space to roam forward, and so it proved against West Ham. Sort of. The Frenchman looked like a kid in a candy shop, popping up everywhere to burst past opponents and play superb balls all over the pitch, but in Matic he didn’t have a shield but rather an accomplice to this demolition job.
The 29-year-old was sublime in ways many wouldn’t have expected. He carried the ball with power and purpose, breaking through the lines and setting up attacks. West Ham couldn’t get past him, nor stop him whenever he decided to surge forward.
And alongside Pogba, it was a truly special sight. The pair operated in perfect attacking symbiosis, ripping the very soul of out Slaven Bilic’s side. Bigger tests lie around the corner, of course, but this was a promising start.
Martial deserves to start
The disappointment of seeing Anthony Martial consigned to the bench when the teams were announced at 3PM on Sunday was palpable. What, you wonder, does he have to do in order to breach the starting XI, especially after such a promising pre-season?
Similar thoughts would have been occupying the Frenchman’s mind as he watched his teammates take West Ham for a ride, and when he came on after 80 minutes, with the visitors starting to dwindle, he didn’t waste any time.
In seven minutes he had claimed United’s third goal, timing his run perfectly to receive the ball from Henrikh Mkhitaryan before sliding past Joe Hart. Three minutes later, he supplied Paul Pogba with a crisp assist to add United’s fourth and send them top of the league. This was an emphatic message to the gaffer, to be sure.
Chicharito is in for a challenge
Nobody wanted to see Javier Hernandez leave in such abrupt circumstances back in 2015. Louis van Gaal selling him for just £7.3m – which is actually less than what United received in windfall payments for Michael Keane’s move to Everton – was an historically criminal piece of transfer business. Supporters didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.
His return to Old Trafford, therefore, was a sentimental one. Huge roars greeted his name when announced on the tannoy, but the 90 minutes that ensued were anything but memorable for the Mexican.
The added influence of Marco Arnautovic promises to supply some important service to the striker this season, but that was nowhere to be seen at Old Trafford. West Ham, for whatever reason, couldn’t even get the ball close to Hernandez. He was utterly isolated, consigned to the role of spectator for the most part.
Bilic has bought well this summer and could challenge for a place in the top ten, but the Little Pea will have to get used to this type of game once in a while. West Ham were overwhelmed and the 29-year-old, in turn, could not write any headlines on his return to the Theatre of Dreams.
Supporters should be cautiously optimistic
Mourinho’s men put on the performance of the weekend and laid down an important marker to their rivals. They sit at the top of the Premier League table and look like a dynamic threat with a clear idea of how to dismantle opponents. Many remarked after the game that this was the best performance they had seen at Old Trafford in years. Alan Shearer noted that it was the best display yet under the Portuguese. Talk of a title challenge inevitably followed, but supporters ought to receive this result – whilst overly pleasing – with a pinch of salt.
After all, United dismantled Swansea 4-1 on their first game under David Moyes and we all know how that turned out. They were just as emphatic against AFC Bournemouth on the first day of last season and ended up in sixth.
Mourinho’s job, above anything, is to make sure that his side doesn’t fall into the same pit by September that condemned them to a substandard campaign last season.
