Did you make Romelu Lukaku your fantasy football captain this week? If not, why not?
Every team seems to have a bogey player who frequently scores against them, but West Ham United’s record against the Belgian striker is on another level entirely.
Lukaku opened the scoring in the Toffees’ 2-0 win, a result which lifts Ronald Koeman’s team back into the top six, to make it nine straight games in which he’s scored against the London club.
You read that right. Nine. Not bad for a player who failed to find the net in two games against the Irons during his spell with West Bromwich Albion.
In short, every game between Everton and West Ham since Lukaku moved to Merseyside has included a Lukaku goal.
It started back in September 2013, with Lukaku scoring the winning goal at Upton Park on his Everton debut
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Later that same season, he netted the only goal of the game in a 1-0 home victory
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In 2014/15 he opened the scoring in a 2-1 win at Goodison Park…
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…and scored a 93rd-minute winner to ruin Sam Allardyce’s last home game in E13.
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That same season saw Everton and West Ham drawn together in the FA Cup third round. Lukaku forced a replay with a late equaliser on Merseyside…
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…and fired home in extra-time during the replay (as well as scoring his penalty in the shoot-out, which went the way of the Londoners.
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Last season there were just two meetings between the teams: first up was a 1-1 draw in East London with a goal from you-know who.
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West Ham recorded a rare victory at Goodison Park towards the end of Roberto Martinez’s tenure, with Adrián even saving a Lukaku penalty in a 3-2 win for the visitors. But did that mean the Belgian ended the game without his name on the scoresheet? Of course not.
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Everton travel to the London Stadium for the first time on April 22. Save the date, fantasy football nuts.
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