Romelu Lukaku managed to score not once but twice against West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday, in what many would see as an ideal start for his new club. However, former Arsenal striker and football pundit Thierry Henry managed to find a few faults with Lukaku's performance and warned he still has a lot to work on.
The Belgian striker found the net in the first half, latching onto a great pass from teammate Marcus Rashford, before slotting the ball past Joe Hart to open the scoring. He then made it 2-0 to the Red Devils shortly after the break, jumping above Arthur Masuaku, to head home from a Henrikh Mkhitaryan cross.
This was Lukaku's 11th goal in 11 consecutive league appearances against West Ham and helped his team pick up their biggest Premier League win since 2014.
Lukaku still has things to work on if he is to be the difference for United this season
Although it was not all praise for the striker and Thierry Henry was quick to point out a few negatives in his game. During the post match analysis on Sky Sports, Henry analysed a few highlights and commented that Lukaku should have pressed the West Ham defence more and ultimately made it even tougher for them. The biggest criticism though came from reviewing Lukaku's match stats, particularly the amount of possession he gave away.
Henry said, "This is the thing he has to work on...
that's a tiny bit too much."
The ex-French International did offer some praise in the end for the striker, but it's fair to say he needs to work on some small things to really become the deciding factor for man united if they are going to win the title this season.
Elsewhere, there was a lot of praise for Lukaku's team mate and new signing- Nemanja Matic.
The defensive midfielder hardly put a foot wrong during the game. Not only did he break up play effectively, he helped launch threatening attacks whilst still being a great shield for the defence. The Serbian arrived at Old Trafford this summer from current Premier League Champions Chelsea in a deal that seemed to take the football world by complete surprise.
Speaking about it after the game, Graeme Souness said, "Why would you strengthen arguably your biggest rivals by letting them have one of your best players?"
Chelsea's first game is one they'll want to forget in a hurry
It seems Chelsea could be already regretting letting him go, as they started the new campaign in terrible fashion at home to Burnley. They found themselves 3-0 behind at half time as well as being down to 10 men. Their normally reliable centre back and new full-time captain, Gary Cahill, saw red in the opening 15 minutes. In the second half things briefly looked better for the champions as new signing Alvaro Morata pulled one back for the hosts before chaos ensued once more. Cesc Fabregas picked up a second yellow card, meaning the hosts would have to play the final ten minutes plus stoppage time with nine men.
David Luiz did manage to grab a second late on for Chelsea, but it was too little too late and they begin their title defence with a loss.
Chelsea faces an incredibly tough test in their next game as they travel to rivals Tottenham on Sunday, while Man United will be looking to pick up another win as they travel to Swansea the day before.
