CSKA Moscow vs Manchester United. UEFA Champions League Group A.
Arena CSKAAttendance29,073.
Thursday 28 September 2017 08:08, UK
Romelu Lukaku scored twice as a dominant Manchester United won 4-1 at CSKA Moscow in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday.
Lukaku claimed his ninth and 10th goals of the season for United with a header and a close-range finish either side of Anthony Martial's penalty as United went into the break 3-0 up.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan made it 4-0 after the break with a rebounded effort, and if it wasn't for home goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev making a string of saves, it could have ended much worse for CSKA, who grabbed a late consolation through 19-year-old substitute Konstantin Kuchaev.
The result means United are three points clear at the top of Group A with two games gone, and are still unbeaten in all competitions this season.
It was one-way traffic throughout as United dominated, going ahead on four minutes through Lukaku, who outmuscled his marker to head Martial's left-wing cross into the bottom corner.
Alan Dzagoev forced David de Gea into a low save minutes later, before Akinfeev stopped Mkhitaryan's low effort, but United were 2-0 up on 19 minutes.
After Georgi Schennikov needlessly brought down Mkhitaryan on the right of the box, Martial stepped up and found the bottom right corner from the spot.
And it was 3-0 after just 27 minutes, as Lukaku arrived at the back post from Martial's cross after Vasili Berezutski had missed his clearance.
Akinfeev was busy in the CSKA net, beating away Lukaku's volley just after the break, but despite parrying Martial's shot when one-on-one shortly after, the Russian stopper's save fell into the path of Mkhitaryan to clean up from close range on 57 minutes.
Substitute Jesse Lingard should have made it five just 15 seconds after he came on, but Akinfeev again stopped his low shot from 12 yards.
CSKA grabbed a consolation in the 90th minute as Kuchaev's smart finish went through De Gea's legs.
Excluding qualifiers, this was Manchester United's first away Champions League win since November 2013 when they won 5-0 at Bayer Leverkusen.
Romelu Lukaku has scored 10 goals in his nine appearances for Manchester United in all competitions.
Lukaku is just the second Manchester United player to score in their first two Champions League appearances for the club after Dimitar Berbatov.
Anthony Martial has been involved in six goals in his last three Manchester United games (three goals, three assists) and has both scored and assisted in each of his last two.
"[Lukaku's form] is a great achievement but it is only possible with a good team. Without a good team it is not possible and the team is playing well. They are amazing numbers for Romelu. He is humble and wants to learn and improve all the time. I think ambition is there and I trust he can keep performing for us."
It all looked so grey for Martial just 12 months ago, and though this was a rare start for the Frenchman, he looks more and more confident as the weeks go by.
He was superb in Moscow, making two goals and scoring from the spot as United strolled past their opponents.
He created five chances, more than any other United player, and even pulled the skills out as he glided past CSKA defenders like they weren't there.
The next step is Martial starting more regularly in the Premier League, having only been named in one league starting XI this season.
United host Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday at 3pm, before a trip to Anfield on Super Sunday a fortnight later. Their next Champions League clash is in Lisbon against Benfica on October 18.
