Daily Times

LONDON: Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku scored at Stamford Bridge for the first time as his double sealed a 3-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday. After scoring on his second Chelsea debut in the win at Arsenal in August, Lukaku made it three goals from three appearances with a pair of predatory strikes. Lukaku, who previously played for Chelsea from 2011 to 2014, is back with the Blues following his club record £98 million ($135 million) move from Inter Milan in the close-season. The 28-year-old had never netted in front of Chelsea’s home fans before, but he ended that drought in the first half to the delight of the 40,000 capacity crowd. Mateo Kovacic scored Chelsea’s second goal and Lukaku struck again in the final moments as the European champions made it three wins from their first four league games. Thomas Tuchel’s side are second in the Premier League, behind leaders Manchester United on goals scored. Chelsea are only the second club, after Manchester United, to win 600 Premier League games.

Praising Lukaku’s impact, Tuchel said: “He’s full of confidence and fully aware what he wants to do. He is absolutely confident of scoring, so he’s helped us a lot.” Tuchel admitted Chelsea weren’t at their best despite the scoreline. “It was absolutely not a comfortable evening. They caused us a lot of problems, particularly in the first half,” he said. “It was a super dangerous game for teams who have so many players out on international duty. “It was a strange feeling before the match. I hoped the first goal could give us some more confidence, but it didn’t.”