And here’s Daniel Taylor’s match report from Old Trafford.

Peep peep! That was a very confident statement of intent from United. Matic was good, Lukaku scored twice, and there were patches when United played with devastating speed in attack. Most importantly, they scored four goals, something they managed only once in the league in the previous two seasons. It would be wrong to jump to conclusions, so that’s what everyone will do, but United were good today, particularly when the game opened up in the second half. Thanks for your company, I’ll leave you with this from Matt Dony: “Welcome back, Joe Hart.”

Paul Pogba completes a very good day’s work with an excellent goal. Martial ushered him forward with a simple little pass into space, and Pogba marched onto it before opening his body to curl the ball under the diving Hart from 20 yards.

View image in fullscreen

88 min Mkhitaryan, who has had a quiet game yet created two goals, is replaced by Jesse Lingard.

This is a nice goal. Mkhitaryan slips a superb first-time pass through the defence for Martial, who takes it in his stride and sidefoots crisply under Hart.

View image in fullscreen

86 min Pogba comes infield from the left, plays a square pass to Lukaku and keeps running. Lukaku dinks a nice return pass over the top which Pogba takes on the chest before swishing a half-volley that is crucially blocked by Zabaleta.

85 min Matic plays a give-and-go with Martial before overhitting a through pass to Lukaku, who had made another terrific angled run behind the defence. That was a fairly straightforward pass for Matic.

82 min Another West Ham change: Aaron Cresswell replaces Masuaku.

81 min This game is over. United know it, West Ham know it. Even educated fleas know it.

79 min Another Manchester United substitution: Anthony Martial for Marcus Rashford, who had a good game in his newish role on the left wing and made the first goal.

78 min A cross from the left falls nicely for Arnautovic, in space to the right of the box. He controls the ball on his thigh but then blasts a half-volley into orbit.

77 min “I do like Mkhitaryan,” says Matt Dony. “Very much ‘one that got away’ for Liverpool. Still, at least he got his wish and joined a ‘big team’. (7, 4, 5, 6...)”

With banter like that, it’s on!

76 min A like-for-like substitution from United: Juan Mata is replaced by Marouane Fellaini. Mata was his useful busy, skilful self.

75 min Lukaku finds himself in space 25 yards out, draws back his left foot ... and batters the ball into orbit.

73 min Rashford wins a corner with another eye-catching turn of speed down the left. Blind makes a mess of it.

72 min How do you think Henrik, son of Hamlet, will get on this year, after a patchy first season?” sniffs David Wall. “Can he be, or not be, at the level he achieved at Dortmund again consistently?”

It would be so much better if he regularly played No10, but you can’t really do that with Pogba in the side, not in the tougher games when Mourinho will want the protection of Matic and Herrera. He’ll be fine though; he’s class.

71 min United’s full-back almost combine for a great goal. Valencia rampages down the right and picks out a very deep cross from Blind, whose deliberate volley goes into the ground and bounces up onto the roof of the net.

68 min United look like a side who are ready to challenge for the title. Mind you, we said that last August. It’s probably worth reserving judgement until we are 10 games into the season.

66 min Rashford hits the base of the post with a quite brilliant curling shot from 20 yards. That was a beautiful effort, whipped extravagantly around Hart from an inside-left position. It curled appreciably but not quite enough before rattling off the inside of the post and across goal.

View image in fullscreen

63 min Mkhitaryan dances into space and hits a fierce low shot from 20 yards that is well held by the plunging Hart.

63 min Just before that Lukaku chance, Sakho made a mess of a free header from a corner, flicking it right across the face of goal.

62 min Zabaleta makes a great block to deny Lukaku a hat-trick. He was teed up beautifully by Rashford and Mkhitaryan, and drilled a low right-footed shot that would probably have gone in the corner but for Zabaleta’s desperate sliding block.

61 min West Ham made a double change, with Declan Rice and Diafra Sakho replacing Noble and Fernandes.

60 min Valencia is booked for a late tackle on Arnautovic.

59 min Arnautovic hits the bar! It was a terrific looping header from Fernandes’s lofted pass. De Gea backpedalled but didn’t get there, and it hit the top of the bar before going behind.

57 min Mkhitaryan has a goal disallowed for offside against Rashford in the build up.

55 min West Ham have a job on now. Only Spurs conceded fewer league goals than United last season, and that was before Matic.

It was another straightforward goal. Mkhitaryan curled a free-kick in from the left, and Lukaku got in front of Masuaku to flick an accomplished downward header into the far corner. That’s a really good finish.

Another one for Romelu Lukaku!

View image in fullscreen

View image in fullscreen

51 min Zabaleta is booked for fouling Rashford just outside the area.

50 min Rashford misses a decent chance to make it 2-0. He vroomed away from Reid to meet Pogba’s through pass before opening up his body to try to curl it into the far top corner. He didn’t get enough curl on it and it flew high and wide.

View image in fullscreen

46 min Peep peep! West Ham begin the second half. If you like to picture these things in the TV style, they are kicking from right to left.

Ah

“I see that John Hone ‘Can’t believe that nobody has come up with the stat that Lukaku never failed to score against West Ham in ALL his time with Everton!’” says Mo Holkar. “There might be a reason for that.”

Half-time statgasm

“Can’t believe that nobody has come up with the stat that Lukaku never failed to score against West Ham in ALL his time with Everton!” says John Hone. “That goal makes it 10 in a row!”

Peep peep! West Ham defended very well for all bar a few seconds of the half, when Romelu Lukaku scored a goal that brought Ian Rush to mind: a perfectly timed angled run behind the defence and an emphatic first-time finish

45+1 min West Ham almost equalise on the stroke of half-time. Ayew plays a short pass into the area for Noble, who flicks it cleverly behind him while being clattered by Valencia. Fernandes runs onto the ball and thrashes a shot from 17 yards that takes a slight deflection off Bailly and is beaten away by De Gea.

View image in fullscreen

44 min “Hi Rob,” says Felix Wood. “The sale of Matic to Man U is so baffling for me. Why on earth did Chelsea do it? You must know. You must.”

Look, it’s all related to the 9/11 Cover Up and the Brexit vote. If I say any more than that, I’ll be find in a dump truck.

43 min Bailly is booked for a hack at Hernandez.

40 min Hernandez’s deft lay-off finds Fernandes, whose stinging 20-yard shot is blocked.

40 min Matic goes on a superb, twinkle-toed run down the right before giving the ball away. He has been the best player on the pitch. He looks a serious signing.

38 min United win their ninth corner of the half. It’s half cleared to Valencia, whose low shot is kicked clear. West Ham are being ushered in the direction of the ropes.

36 min I didn’t give Matic enough, or indeed any, credit for his part in the goal. He got in Obiang’s face and blocked his attempted pass, which diverted it straight to Rashford.

35 min Pogba dances into the area and goes down after a double challenge from Obiang and Arnautovic. Obiang got the ball so Martin Atkinson is right to ignore the penalty appeals.