Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku in red-hot form, but Belgium toil despite 3-0 Panama win

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  • Centre forward Romelu Lukaku grabbed an impressive double as a much-improved second-half performance from Belgium earned an ultimately comfortable 3-0 victory over tournament debutants Panama in Monday’s World Cup opener at Fisht Stadium.

    A moment of inspiration from Napoli forward Dries Mertens set the Belgians on their way two minutes after the break, his sensational volley breaking the deadlock in staggering fashion after a flat first half.

    Manchester United’s Lukaku then headed in City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne’s stylish cross  and chipped in from captain Eden Hazard’s assist to secure victory in this Group G-match, with the Central Americans succumbing to a defeat in their first-ever outing at the finals.

    DRAWBACK OF BELGIUM’S 3-4-2-1 SYSTEM

    Belgium v Panama: Group G - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia

    Roberto Martinez is stubbornly wed to his three-at-the-back set-up and while in theory it should be most effective against sides who sit in, the first half proved there are deficiencies.

    The two wing-backs, Yannick Carrasco and Thomas Meunier, were far too deep when Belgium pushed on and it meant they were bereft of width with Mertens and Hazard practically falling over each other through the middle.

    The other issue is the double pivot. De Bruyne and Alex Witsel virtually sat in front the back three and it created a huge chasm from the first receiver into the attacking third.

    De Bruyne, who has been magnificent as a No8 for Manchester City this season, was left spraying inaccurate diagonal balls from deep and his first-half pass success rate of 76 per cent was seven per cent down on his Premier League average last term.

    And it created a chain reaction because that then meant service into Lukaku was in short supply and it was no wonder the big Manchester United forward only touched the ball seven times in the opening half.

    Belgium possess a plethora of creative talents, but it’s no use to Lukaku if they are too far away from him.

    Perhaps four at the back would free up an extra body in attack or indeed provide a natural partner for Lukaku. But regardless, it’s something for Martinez to consider.

    Add to that the fact Belgium lacked effort, endeavour, speed of passing and movement off the ball and you can’t help but wonder if the players truly believe in the system.

    Granted, they were improved after the break but that owed more to individual brilliance than a collective rally with the limited Panama tiring in the latter stages.

    LUKAKU IN THE GOLDEN BOOT HUNT

    FBL-WC-2018-MATCH13-BEL-PAN

    In Brazil, Lukaku could only manage two goals but he’ll be delighted to have equalled that tally already.

    Panama on paper offered the perfect foil for the Belgian to get his tournament campaign off on the right foot with his left foot.

    His first was a delightfully placed header following intricate work from first Eden Hazard and then De Bruyne who deliciously lifted the ball into the box with the outside of his right foot.

    It will be of some concern it took until the 69th minute for De Bruyne to find his first successful pass to the No9 but nevertheless, it was worth the wait.

    There was little delay before Lukaku had a second, though, the 25-year-old expertly holding his run off the last man before dinking a masterful chip over the onrushing Jaime Penedo in the 75th minute.

    Lukaku is just one behind top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo and with Tunisia up next and the striker clearly in fine fettle, you can expect him to bloat his goalscoring column with the Golden Boot a genuine possibility.

    It’s now 21 goals in his last 19 Belgium games and it’s fair to say the big man has arrived.

    PANAMA ARE NO PUSHOVERS

    FBL-WC-2018-MATCH13-BEL-PAN

    In a sense, the 3-0 scoreline is a bit of a disservice to Panama.

    Admittedly, the Central Americans are very limited, one paced and offer very little going forward but as tournament debuts go for a relative minnow, they deserve credit for a spirited performance.

    Hernan Dario Gomez’s men deservedly went into the break at 0-0 as Belgium struggled to make inroads through their compact and disciplined 4-5-1 set-up.

    A sumptuous volley from Mertens immediately after half-time could have opened the floodgates, but they held firm until the quick-fire double from Lukaku.

    And even then they refused to buckle, instead, showing more enterprise to get on the scoresheet with substitute Luis Tejada unlucky to connect with an Eric Davis cross.

    Panama were gutsy and they made Belgium toil for their victory.

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