Premier League: Manchester United 4 West Ham 0
JOSE Mourinho hailed Romelu Lukaku after his superb double against West Ham but insisted Manchester United's record signing was under no pressure to score goals.
The £75million summer buy from Everton hit the ground running at Old Trafford with a goal in each half as United thrashed the Hammers 4-0 in their Premier League opener.
Coming after a strike against Real Madrid in the European Super Cup last Tuesday, Lukaku has immediately started to pay off his sizeable fee but Mourinho will not simply judge the player on goals.
Mourinho said: "He is playing well, he is working hard. He likes the team and the team likes him.
"Any striker can play phenomenally hard but if he doesn't score goals the pressure is on them, so good for him, good for Wayne Rooney, (Alexandre) Lacazette, Morata – good for all the strikers arriving in new clubs and scoring in the first days. It is always oxygen, happiness and confidence for them.
"But Romelu knows me well. He knows sometimes strikers can play very well for the team without scoring goals. He knows from me there is no pressure at all. But today he was good, very effective."
Lukaku himself relished the occasion.
"To play in front of such a crowd and for such a great club, it's a dream come true," the Belgian told Sky Sports. "The most important thing is the win – the win was good."
Lukaku set United on the way to a convincing victory with the opening goal after 33 minutes and headed a second early in the second half. The hosts spurned several chances to increase their lead before Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba finally put a realistic slant on the scoreline in the latter stages.
But while Lukaku grabbed the main headlines, the platform was laid by another new signing, Nemanja Matic.
The former Chelsea midfielder was outstanding throughout and Mourinho admitted he was surprised his former club allowed him to leave.
Mourinho said: "I brought him to Stamford Bridge because I thought he was a player with special qualities and since I left I always thought he could be a perfect player for us.
"I never thought it was possible unless something special was happening and it looks like something special was happening because his agent told me, 'You can have him, you just have to pay'.
"We have him and we are very happy because (he) is a player this team needs."
United's performance was brimming with confidence and lent some justification to the pre-season optimism around the club.
But Mourinho said: "Last season we were also top of the league after the first match and we finished sixth, so this means nothing.
"The fans have reasons to be optimistic but, for me, with years and years of experience and years and years of experience in the Premier League, my feet are on the ground and I am calm."
For West Ham, the manner of defeat was a crushing blow to confidence at the start of the campaign.
Manager Slaven Bilic said: "They were much better than us in every department – better without the ball, better with the ball. If you give them time and space in those pockets they are lethal and they showed that.
"It shouldn't affect our confidence, although it will. We are very low at the moment. The players feel bad.
"It is our obligation to pick up ourselves and prepare for the second game of the season against Southampton."
Premier League: Newcastle 0 Tottenham 2
RAFAEL Benitez has revealed Jonjo Shelvey apologised to his Newcastle team-mates after wrecking their start to life back in the Premier League in a moment of madness.
Shelvey was sent off four minutes after the break for needlessly standing on Dele Alli as he lay on the floor in front of referee Andre Marriner with the score at 0-0.
Spurs took full advantage of their numerical advantage to run out 2-0 winners at St James' Park, but it was the man who wore the captain's armband for the home side who emerged as the villain of the piece.
Asked if he felt let down by Shelvey, Benitez said: "It's not me, it's everyone. We have been talking about that for a while. He knows that he had made a mistake, he apologised, but still we lost the game.
"To be fair, I was happy with the effort of the players and there were a lot of positives, but still if you want to win games, we cannot lose our focus for just one minute.
"We know that we are in the Premier League and we have to do everything really well if we want to win games.
"All the effort that we put on the pitch was lost because we made a mistake."
If Benitez could have few complaints over Shelvey's punishment, he felt Tottenham striker Harry Kane should have suffered a similar fate for a robust challenge of Florian Lejeune which ended his debut after 33 minutes, but cost the England international only a yellow card.
Benitez said: "I would like to say that the tackle from behind by Harry Kane I think was worse, but the rules are the rules and we paid for that.
"I'd say that is worse because as you saw, I had to change one player and Dele Alli had nothing. Watching the replay from the bench with the fourth official in front of everyone, I was surprised [he was not sent off]."
Opposite number Mauricio Pochettino, however, was of a different opinion.
He said: "I think it's different. I saw the action. It was the same with [Matt] Ritchie against Dele Alli after he was involved with Shelvey.
"I think it's not fair to say that it deserved the same punishment, Harry, as Shelvey, or Ritchie."
Alli eventually opened the scoring with 61 minutes gone – Ben Davies sealed victory nine minutes later – and the England midfielder, who has had disciplinary problems in the past, was praised by his manager for keeping his cool.
Pochettino said: "He was calm – that's important. Last season, we talked a lot about that, how we need to behave and improve and learn.
"He's mature enough now to accept sometimes what happens on the pitch, but he is so clam, he is so brave.
"Then he scored – and he scored a great goal – and I am very pleased. He needs to improve, he is not at his best expression, but it is coming."
Pochettino revealed he remains intent on strengthening his squad during what remains of the transfer window, but Benitez's need may be more pressing with both Lejeune and Paul Dummett potentially facing time on the sidelines through injury and Shelvey having landed a mandatory suspension.
