Match report: Manchester United 4 Everton 0
Manchester United moved joint-top of the Premier League with a 4-0 thumping of Everton at Old Trafford, on Wayne Rooney's first return to Old Trafford since his summer departure.
The Reds continued to probe for openings and should have doubled the lead when Michael Keane's stray pass was picked up by Juan Mata, who released Lukaku. With the goal at his mercy, the ex-Toffees striker fired wide of the post.
Rooney shot wide from one decent attack by the visitors and they remained very much in the game, with David De Gea saving from Tom Davies's header when the youngster was offside in any case.
After the half-time break, Everton began to get on top with Rooney thwarted by De Gea after tackling Eric Bailly inside the box and the goalkeeper also denied Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Mata almost extended United's advantage when crashing a free-kick off the post after the Spaniard was fouled on the edge of the box by Wales international Ashley Williams, who was rightly booked, but any anxiety was eased when Mkhitaryan stroked home an unselfish pass by Lukaku late on.
Romelu got in on the act himself when steering in soon afterwards. His free-kick may have hit the wall but he remained alive to an opening and tucked past Pickford as Jesse Lingard flicked on a deflected effort from the game's Man of the Match, Matic.
With time running out, United went for the kill and Martial showed quick feet inside the box, only for ex-Red Morgan Schneiderlin to slide in and handle the ball. The lively substitute took on the responsibility himself and added number four to ensure Jose Mourinho's men have matched neighbours City's record in the league this term, with 13 points, 16 goals scored and two conceded.
De Gea preserved another clean sheet, his 100th for the club, when making a brilliant stop to keep out Sandro Ramirez's long-range effort on another afternoon to remember.
THE LINE-UPS
United: De Gea; Valencia, Bailly, Jones, Young; Matic, Fellaini; Mata (Herrera 77), Mkhitaryan (Martial 88), Rashford (Lingard 61), Lukaku.
Subs not used: Romero, Smalling, Carrick, Darmian.
Yellow card: Bailly.
Everton: Pickford; Martina, Keane, Williams, Jagielka, Baines; Schneiderlin, Davies (Sandro 66), Gueye (Calvert-Lewin 76); Sigurdsson; Rooney (Mirallas 80).
Subs not used: Stekelenburg, Holgate, Besic, Klassen.
Yellow card: Williams.
TALKING POINTS
Rooney's return: This was Wayne's first match at Old Trafford since his transfer back to boyhood club Everton in the summer, and our former club captain received a warm ovation from the Reds supporters. The 31-year-old also produced an energetic display and was arguably Ronald Koeman's best player, although he was guilty of missing clear chances to score in both the first and second half. His exit on 80 minutes was met by a standing ovation from a home crowd that was keen to recognise his achievements in red.
Strong finishers: Despite the game being very close for large periods, the Reds ran riot late on and punished Everton at a crucial time in the game when the Toffees could have knicked an undeserved draw. Impressively, of the 20 goals scored in all competitions this season, 10 of them have been registered in the 80th minute or beyond. What a stat!
Lukaku scores again: This was another powerhouse performance from the summer signing, who put an unfortunate first-half miss behind him and proved he is just as good at providing goals with a lovely assist for Mkhitaryan. The Belgian then netted himself, of course, notching his seventh United goal in as many matches. He celebrated by shushing the Everton supporters who had booed his every touch.
De Gea's 100th clean sheet: This is an achievement that reflects the outstanding ability of our number one. This performance included several highlight-reel saves as De Gea stopped efforts from Rooney, Sigurdsson and Sandro in spectacular fashion.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Although he was not among the goals, Matic was an influential figure against Everton and notched a vital assist for Valencia's opener. He was deservedly nominated for the star man award by former manager Ron Atkinson alongside De Gea and Fellaini, eventually winning the prize with 62 per cent of the public vote on Twitter.
What an impact this man has made!
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 17, 2017
Nemanja Matic is today's #MUFC Man of the Match... 👏 pic.twitter.com/fb0sKQWI7i
MOURINHO'S REACTION
Summing up the win, the manager said: "I always thought it would be 1-0 or 2-0, I ever thought about 1-1. The 2-0 came and then the third and fourth goal were just consequences of a team that was sad and another team that was happy. For me, the third and fourth goals were a little bit out of the context of the game.
"I'm happy. There is clearly a difference in relation to last season. We played better and we score more goals. Every match is a different match and the next one, against Burton, who come on the back of an important result against a good team like Fulham. It will be another difficult match for us."
A third consecutive Old Trafford outing is coming on Wednesday night when the Reds will face Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup, a competition which Mourinho's men won last season and hope to defend in 2017/18. Tickets are still available for the game.
After that, United will travel south to face Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday at 15:00 BST.