Holding midfielder Nemanja Matic took home the Man of the Match award in Manchester United’s 4-0 dominance of West Ham in the season opener, but striker Romelu Lukaku achieved another honor. The big Belgian was deemed the best performer in the entire Premier League for week one by NBC Sports.
There were numerous heroes for United this week, as they opened their Premier League season with a performance that was as complete as we’ve seen since the Sir Alex Ferguson era ended.
Lukaku bagged a brace, but could have easily had a hat trick in a match that was even more lopsided than the 4-0 score would have you believe.
Here’s the top five in the NBC Sports Premier League individual power rankings. Go here for the full 20. Matic and Lukaku were the only Red Devils to make the list.
- Romelu Lukaku (Man United)
- Steve Mounie (Huddersfield)
- Nemanja Matic (Man United)
- David Silva (Man City)
- Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal)
Red Devils snubbed from this list include Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba, but truly Matic was the one that everybody was really raving about. He gives the team so much of what they lacked last season, and he provides for Mourinho a coach on the pitch. His acquisition this summer was beyond huge, to say the least.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV.
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