Romelu Lukaku made the perfect start to life in his second stint at Stamford Bridge, by scoring in a 2-0 victory over Arsenal. Earlier on Sunday, Manchester United drew with Southampton.
Lukaku took just fifteen minutes to open his account for the season, while Reece James – who supplied the assist for the first goal – scored before the break to condemn the Gunners to their second straight defeat.
Chelsea went ahead after just 15 minutes, despite flashes of early Arsenal brilliance. Lukaku dropped deep to lay the ball off for Mateo Kovacic, who found James advancing on the wing.
The wing-back’s cross was calmly slotted into the net by Lukaku, who had made a run between the Arsenal center-backs. Twenty minutes later, James again found himself in acres of space on the right-wing, only this time the youngster smashed his shot into the goal instead of playing it to a teammate.
Chelsea contained the Gunners masterfully once in the lead, so much so that the Gunners rarely ever threatened Edouard Mendy’s goal. Arsenal were unable to score for the second game in a row and currently lie 19th in the table after two successive defeats.
Anthony Martial returned to the Manchester United line-up as they took on Southampton. The Frenchman had the best opportunity to score for the Red Devils in the first half, but his scuffed shot was cleared off the line, first by Mohammed Salisu and then Tino Livramento.
The Saints took the lead in the 30th minute against the run of play when Che Adams shot took a huge deflection off of Fred and nestled into the corner. United fought back after the break, and Mason Greenwood equalized in the 55th minute.
However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men could not break down a resilient Southampton again and were condemned to a draw. United sit fifth after two games, while the Saints moved up to 13th.
