Lukaku’s brace sinks Newcastle

Everton forward Romelu Lukaku destroyed Newcastle as the Belgian marked his home debut with a double-strike in a 3-2 win at Goodison Park on Monday. Toffees boss Roberto Martinez snapped up Lukaku on loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline day and the powerful 20-year-old looks set to be a big hit on Merseyside. He netted on his Everton debut in a win at West Ham last weekend and followed that with a pair of clinical finishes to kill off Newcastle. Lukaku’s goals came either side of Ross Barkley’s strike, which the Belgian also set up as Everton raced into a 3-0 lead before the break. Yohan Cabaye and Loic Remy scored for Newcastle in the second half, but Alan Pardew’s side had left it too late to complete a remarkable revival. Everton remain unbeaten after six matches and their third win of the season lifts them into fourth place. “I loved it, I had waited to make my home debut for a long time,” Lukaku said. “My team-mates really helped me and from minute one I was focused.” Martinez saluted his striker’s sublime display, saying: “For a number nine to have that awareness of what was going on around him was tremendous. Romelu was unplayable. “He is going to get stronger and the players around him will learn how to play with him. “The first half was so dominant that sometimes unconsciously you drop the tempo, but overall I was pleased we controlled it for long periods. It’s been a good start to the season.” Lukaku wasted little time making an impression as he showed great strength to hold off Mathieu Debuchy and slot past Tim Krul, only to see his strike disallowed for offside. The Belgian didn’t have to wait long for his first goal in an Everton shirt at Goodison however as he opened the scoring in the fifth minute. He showed his aerial prowess by glancing a long punt upfield towards Kevin Mirallas, who surged clear down the right flank before whipping over a low cross that Lukaku, having raced in the penalty area, met with a cool close-range finish at the near post. With Lukaku proving such a handful, Martinez's men were carving through the Newcastle back-four at will and it was no surprise when the hosts doubled their lead in the 25th minute.