Romelu Lukaku's swift start - Seven deadly stats as Manchester United put four past Swansea

Aditya Devavrat 18:28 19/08/2017
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  • Here are seven deadly stats from the game.

    UNITED PASS SWANSEA OUT OF THE GAME

    From the start, Manchester United looked to boss the game, and it showed in their passing in the opening 20 minutes.

    While the goalkeeper and two defenders having 100% passing isn’t uncommon, Marcus Rashford joining that list is impressive. His link-up play with his fellow attackers was good to see.

    UNITED KEEP FINDING THE WOODWORK

    Much has been made of United’s lack of goals last season, but Jose Mourinho also often pointed to his side’s poor luck. United were unlucky on occasion last season, and it looks like that may be continuing this season. 

    Rashford hit the post last week, and Phil Jones joined him when his scuffed header came off the bar on Saturday. 

    That tally would go up just a few minutes later.

    ESPECIALLY PAUL POGBA

    The biggest culprit when it came to hitting the woodwork was undoubtedly Paul Pogba, who was denied by the post or crossbar nine times in all last season, six of which came in the league. And he added to his count right at the end of the first half with a header that was tipped onto the bar by Swansea keeper Lukas Fabianski.

    However, on this occasion, Pogba’s shot ended up turning into an assist…

    BAILLY GOAL

    …because Eric Bailly followed in Pogba’s header and made sure United got their goal.

    It was a big moment for the central defender, who looks like he could be a regular contributor from set pieces. His first goal for United, and he will hope there are many more to come.

    LUKAKU’S FAST START

    Romelu Lukaku had a poor first half, but came alive in the second as United were able to counter quickly when Swansea looked for an equaliser. 

    And sure enough, it was United’s new 75million striker who scored the team’s second, finishing sweetly past Fabianski to make it four goals in three competitive games since his move.

    FINISHING WITH A FLOURISH

    After being frustrated for most of the first half and then struggling to find a second goal, United put the game to bed with a flurry of goals. Just 3 minutes and 41 seconds passed between Lukaku grabbing United’s second and Anthony Martial, on as a substitute, making it 4-0, with a Pogba goal sandwiched in between.

    UNITED BACK IN THE GOALS

    United’s biggest failing last season was up front, where they often failed to score despite dominating games, leading to far too many draws as well as a few losses. They’ve begun to remedy that immediately at the start of this season. 

    Their 8 goals from two games is roughly 15% of their goal tally from the entirety of last season, when they scored only 54 goals. 

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