The Belgian striker scored the only goal of the game as Chelsea defeated Zenit St Petersburg at Stamford Bridge, heading home a pinpoint Cesar Azpilicueta cross with around 20 minutes remaining.

The three points ensured Thomas Tuchel’s side begin the defence of our Champions League title with victory and Lukaku believes we can be pleased with our efforts against a strong Zenit side.

‘I’m really happy with the win against a tough opponent,’ Man of the Match Lukaku beamed after the game.

‘We really kept the game under control and now we need to keep growing as a team. It was a better team performance than the weekend and I was really happy with the goal and the win.

‘Zenit are a good side. They’ve won a lot of titles in Russia, they are experienced and they are organised. We knew it would be a tough game but I felt we controlled things really well.

‘We created a lot of chances, we stayed patient and got that breakthrough. We won the game and that’s the most important thing.’

‘We created a lot of chances, we stayed patient and got that breakthrough. We won the game and that’s the most important thing.’

The striker now has four goals to his name for the season, starting the new campaign in impressive fashion, but laid all the credit on the shoulders of his captain Azpilicueta for the assist from the right.

‘It was a beautiful ball in from Cesar,’ added Romelu.

‘I think we have a good understanding, we both know what positions to take up and what areas to put the deliveries into. I knew he would put in the right sort of cross, I just had to get my timing right and find the corner.

‘We’re taking things one game at a time. This was an important win for us and we will enjoy the three points, but now we must focus on a difficult game against Tottenham on Sunday.’