5 things we learned: Lukaku can dominate a big-six club

This weekend, Manchester United beat Chelsea, Manchester City won the first trophy of the season and more. Here are five things we learned.

Lukaku played like the $100 million man he is

A goal and a pinpoint assist are more than enough to warrant declaring Romelo Lukaku’s performance against Chelsea a great one. The Belgian big man had one of his best games in a United uniform so far, managing to score his first goal against a top-eight team.

Beyond the stats, we saw a center forward unleashed. Lukaku played without some of the inhibitions that have seemingly frayed his game so far this season. The man was always a force of nature but we saw glimpses of a new and more polished side of Lukaku, such as the soft touch he had in the passing sequence immediately preceding his goal, as well as the fantastic cross placed right onto Jesse Lingard’s head for United’s winning goal.

Late in the game, Lukaku had another impressive sequence, showing a quick first step and breakaway speed on a 50-yard solo run that almost put the game out of reach.

It may be too late to make a difference this season, but if Lukaku continues his ascending trajectory, Mourinho’s game plan — always reliant on a classic number 9 — can bring more silverware for United in the future.

David de Gea is human after all

After almost single-handedly keeping United in the top four this season and coming through with some miraculous saves only four days ago to give United a chance to advance in the Champions League, de Gea (finally) let a soft one in on Sunday. Unfortunately, it came at an inopportune moment, with the spotlight firmly focused on the “Mourinho Derby.”

De Gea had another miscue in the second half as he had a lot of trouble with a long-range shot from Danny Drinkwater, spilling out a rebound right in front of goal. He is but human.

Were it not for Antonio Valencia’s quick reaction to clear the ball away, de Gea could’ve been responsible for a disastrous result. As it stands, de Gea’s error didn’t really matter in the end and it will shortly be forgotten once he reverts back to his usual ways.

West Brom headed for relegation

It appears that when you fire the manager who has never been relegated in 25 years, you will get relegated.

It looks like the Baggies’ run in the top flight is coming to an end after a solid eight-year spell in the Premier League. During the Tony Pulis era, West Brom developed a reputation as one of the most hard-nosed, no nonsense and, yes, boring teams in the Premier League, uncomfortable to play against and good enough to find themselves in mid-table mediocrity for years.

Well, seven points from safety with 10 games left, it appears the end is nigh. West Brom have a severe lack of quality as well as identity, not nearly good enough at this level. The latest loss, at home to Huddersfield, put a serious, perhaps fatal dagger in any chance of a climb up from their current last-place position in the table.

Arsenal fail yet another test

With a 10-point gap between themselves and fourth-place Tottenham and a tough Europa League matchup versus AC Milan looming, this was a big opportunity for Arsenal to win a trophy this season as well as to regain a sense of respectability.

Once again, it was not to be for Arsenal and their fans. Manchester City easily disposed of Arsenal with a resounding 3-0 win after a game in which City never hit top gear.  The winner was never in doubt after Sergio Aguero’s opening goal.

This is the latest chapter of a season during which the Gunners have had a number of ups and a lot more downs. For a club that recently re-signed one of the best playmakers (Mesut Ozil) and signed one of the most coveted forwards (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang) in Europe, these types of performances are somewhere between below par and unacceptable. This was the season devoid of Champions League “distractions,” and it looks like perhaps Arsenal’s issues are more about a lack of quality rather than any diversions.

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When Liverpool are on, they are really on

Liverpool continued their good run of form with a 4-1 win against West Ham on Saturday. The Reds are unbeaten in their last five games, including a 5-0 win away at Porto in the Champions League.

Against West Ham, the goals came in all shapes and sizes, starting with the opener from a set play and continuing on with Mohamed Salah’s quick feet dancing past defenders in the box. Liverpool’s attacking trio of Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have developed fantastic chemistry and are showing a joy of playing together unlike any forward line in the Premier League.

While their adversaries haven’t exactly been world-class of late, the manner in which Liverpool run over and ridicule their opponents back lines is really impressive. It’s almost expected that Klopp’s team will put up multiple goals, which means that to beat the Reds you better have some serious firepower.

Tougher tests are still to come, not least of all an upcoming clash at Old Trafford and games against whoever they face in the Champions League quarterfinals (assuming they take care of business against Porto in the second leg). How those games pan out will largely determine how we evaluate Liverpool’s season, but unlike those of, say, Arsenal or Chelsea, Liverpool fans have to feel really good about their prospects for the future, especially as the defense — by far the weakest part of their game in the first half of the season — has been addressed with the arrival of Virgil van Dijk, while their offensive trident is shaping up to be second to none.