ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
Southampton 0
Everton 3
SOUTHAMPTON • Romelu Lukaku scored his first Premier League brace since November 2013 and Ross Barkley added a late third, as Everton recorded a fine 3-0 win at Southampton yesterday.
Belgium striker Lukaku managed only 10 league goals last season, but he is up and running after two moments of class and an all-around display of brilliance won this match for the visitors before the break.
For his first goal, Lukaku headed in off the bar on 22 minutes even though the ball was slightly behind him from Arouna Kone's cross.
Then, seconds before the break, he started and finished a move, scoring with a left-foot finish from the edge of the area.
It was a sparkling performance from the Merseyside club, and manager Roberto Martinez praised his players as they won at St Mary's Stadium for the first time since 2002.
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ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE
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FRIDAY
Aston Villa 0
Manchester United 1
YESTERDAY
Southampton 0 Everton 3
Swansea 2 Newcastle 0
Tottenham 2 Stoke 2
West Ham 1 Leicester 2
Sunderland 1 Norwich 3
Watford 0 West Bromwich 0
TODAY
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
Ch102 & Ch227, 8.30pm
Manchester City v Chelsea
Ch102 & Ch227, 11pm
TOMORROW
Liverpool v Bournemouth
Ch102 & Ch227, Tuesday, 3am
All on Singtel TV and StarHub
"We've found it tough to come here in recent years, but I thought the performance today was outstanding in every department," said Martinez.
"We scored three very good goals and could have had more."
Saints manager Ronald Koeman was able to take his place on the bench again following an Achilles operation, although he spent the 90 minutes in his seat.
Everton started the game on the front foot, but it was Southampton who probably should have opened the scoring. Saido Mane ran through on goal but his shot was saved by Tim Howard.
Within seconds, Everton had gone down to the other end of the pitch to score, with Lukaku converting Kone's right-wing cross for his first goal of the season.
The Belgian was proving to be a real handful for the Saints defenders and he all but finished the game before the half-time whistle.
The 22-year-old won the ball off Maya Yoshida and played Barkley in before receiving the ball back. Lukaku's cool, low finish, following a driving run, gave Maarten Stekelenburg little chance.
It was left to England midfielder Barkley to complete the scoring. He added a third six minutes from time with a composed finish after Lukaku's strength and Seamus Coleman's pass had set him up.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
