Lukaku shines as United brush Basel aside
Goals from Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford ensured Manchester United’s lapse to a UEFA Champions League started successfully during Old Trafford.
José Mourinho’s group sent out a matter of vigilant as they eased to a 3-0 success opposite Basel in their Group A opener. The hosts suffered an early reversal when Paul Pogba limped off with a hamstring damage yet his deputy Fellaini done a discerning impact, soaring above a Basel counterclaim to conduct in Ashley Young’s 35th-minute cross.
United pulled divided after a interval, doubling their lead when another smoothness from wide, this time by Daley Blind, found Lukaku rushing in to plant a organisation header past Tomáš VaclÃk. Another surrogate finished a scoring as Rashford quietly swept in a third after Lukaku and Fellaini had forged open a visitors down a right channel.Â
Key player: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
Reporter’s view: Simon Hart (@UEFAcomSimonH)
This was a plain start from United on their UEFA Champions League lapse and it underlined dual truths about Mourinho’s side: that Fellaini is a actor of definite value to United and that in Lukaku they have a practical pledge of goals. It’s now 6 in 6 for a Belgian given his summer arrival, yet it took an progressing header from Fellaini to mangle a deadlock as he done a large impact on a diversion after replacing a harmed Pogba. A word too for Young, creator of a initial idea with his discerning feet, on his initial coming given May.