World Cup 2018, Belgium 3-0 Panama: 3 key battles that decided the game

#2 Romelu Lukaku vs Fidel Escobar

2 goals in the opening game is a perfect set-up for the Belgian to go through the rest of the tournament

Romelu Lukaku had an advantage of 9 cms and 19 kilograms over Fidel Escobar, and it is not exactly fair to expect the defender to mark him at all times. Considering the unusual pace Lukaku possesses for a man of his frame as well, it was a mismatch from the beginning.

It was a sharp performance from the Manchester United player as well, as he found himself well serviced by the play-makers from his team. First, De Bruyne set him up with a picture-perfect cross and then Hazard gave him the most exact of through balls, which he showed great composure in finishing.

To Escobar's credit, he was part of the well-oiled defence that looked like it might pull off the job after the first half, but Merten's screamer drained all the hope out of them and it was never the same after that.

Escobar came out of the game with a whopping 7 tackles to his name, and 4 clearances to go with it, but ultimately was no match for the man/machine that Belgium had playing for them up top.