Lukaku double fires Belgium to victory
Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku scored twice and was named the official Man of the Match in his first game of the 2018 World Cup, as he helped Belgium to a comfortable 3-0 win over Panama in Sochi.
Lukaku stooped to head home a Kevin De Bruyne cross in the 69th minute to give the Red Devils a 2-0 lead, after Napoli’s Dries Mertens had opened the scoring with a sensational volley two minutes after the half-time interval.
United’s no.9 had to wait just six minutes to double his tally, rushing on to an Eden Hazard pass to lift home his second goal, and Belgium’s third.
Panama, competing at the first World Cup in their country’s history, had fought bravely to keep the game goalless during the first period, despite long periods of possession for Lukaku and his colleagues, but, after the break, the floodgates opened and the Europeans made their domination count.
Rom lifts the ball over the Panama goalkeeper to bag his second and make the game safe for Belgium. image
The result took Belgium top of Group G, ahead of England’s match against Tunisia in Volgograd on Monday evening.
#BELPAN@RomeluLukaku9 takes the @Budweiser #ManoftheMatch award #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/sQ3I5662PM
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 18, 2018
All of Lukaku's Premier League goals Video
All of Lukaku's Premier League goals
Sit back, relax and watch all 16 of Romelu Lukaku's Premier League goals for United...
Lukaku’s club colleague, Marouane Fellaini, was an unused substitute for Roberto Martinez’s men, but the United midfielder could feature on Saturday when Belgium continue their campaign against Tunisia in Moscow.
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