By Dave Marshall
Manchester United came back from a goal down to defeat Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday at Old Trafford and put daylight between us and the Premier League champions in the race for the Champions League.
The early stages of the game saw Chelsea dominate the game and of course took a well-deserved win through Willian, but Romelu Lukaku turned on the screw to dispel doubts about his big-game profile, scoring one and laying on the assist for the second.
Just before the 1st half ended, Lukaku scored from an Anthony Martial cutback after Andreas Christensen lost concentration. He was powerful, ran well with and without the ball and looked up for the game against his former club. The 24-year-old Belgian who has now hit 99 Premier League goals with the strike against Chelsea, and had been criticised for his below par performances against top 10 sides, answered his critics with a brilliant display.
He showed up for the battle, displaying a brilliant level of creativity to spot the run of Jesse Lingard, who had come from the bench to score.
Below are some of the best tweets about how well he played.
Absolutely love this run Romelu Lukaku made yesterday ? #mufc
— United Report (@ManUtdReport_) February 26, 2018
Lukaku found the net against one of the sides currently occupying the top 8 of the Premier League for the first time this season – he had played 10 games without scoring before this match#MUFC
— Rob Jones (@BTSportRob) February 26, 2018
Yesterday, Romelu Lukaku pushed the rent boys down to Europa League spot. Pass it on. ?
— Paschal ?? (@Paschal_MUFC) February 26, 2018
Man of the Match, @ManUtd’s Romelu Lukaku
38 touches
Assist for Lingard (6th in PL this season)
5 shots, 3 on target
13th PL goal of the season
1st goal in 8 PL apps v Chelsea #mufc #mulive— kwame addae (@kwameunited) February 26, 2018
When I woke up today only one thing in my mind Lukaku taking on 3 chelsea Defenders…
???#mufc #MUNCHE #PremierLeague @ManUtd @ChelseaFC @RomeluLukaku9— Abhishek Iyer??? (@abhishek_aip) February 26, 2018
Now Lukaku knows what it's like to score in important games hopefully he can do the same against Liverpool and Sevilla. Because their also 2 important games #mufc
— Shane Gavin (@BalorClub93) February 26, 2018
Dont ever talk to me about Kante or Chelseas defence ever again, they had Romelu Lukaku running past and playing through balls to himself in injury time!
— Mike (@Mike87_MUFC) February 26, 2018
I'm so happy for Lukaku today. Over the last 6 weeks he's worked hard. Hold up play has improved so much & he looks alot sharper. Deserved that today #Lukaku #MUFC
— ᗰᖇ ᗪᑌᖴᖴY (@MrDuffz85) February 25, 2018
Great game from lukaku, looked a different player today #MUFC #Lukaku
— Jake (@jakebaker0502) February 25, 2018
Lukaku earned plaudits for his wonderful performances at the beginning of the season, but lost form at a crucial part of the season. His goal takes him to 22 for the season, and getting 30 at the end of the campaign would be a decent return for the £75 million player.
Lukaku is a player known for his pace despite his bulking frame. His next strike in the Premier League will be his 100th, and become one of the youngest players to reach that milestone.
Great work from lukaku and the rest of the team,we are expecting more from you against sevilla and livepool.