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After the day Romelu Lukaku had on Saturday, it had to be asked.

After four goals, and a show-stealing display of “world class” quality – Ronald Koeman’s words, no less – it seemed an obvious place to start.

Where does this performance rank in terms of your best, Rom?

“It is in the top three, but not number one and two,” came the reply. Everton’s talisman, the Premier League’s leading goalscorer, was not about to get too carried away.

“It is third because my debut was the most important. To be a professional that was great. And then my first goal because that is when my life changed.”

That debut came in 2009, for Anderlecht against Standard Liege, 11 days after Lukaku’s 16th birthday.

“We were rivals,” Lukaku remembers. “It was the game for the championship really. We were level with each other going into the game, it was a play-off game.

“It was just after my birthday, just after my contract was legal. The manager gave me a chance and that was it.”

Three months later came his first professional goal. His first full season ended with 19 in all competitions. He’s not stopped since. He’s the Premier League’s leading marksman at the moment, the first Everton player to score at least 16 in four successive seasons since Joe Royle in the 1960s.

Not that wants all the credit, though.

“I believe in my abilities but I believe in my team-mates,” Lukaku says. “That is the most important thing.

“If you don’t believe in your team-mates then they are not going to put a shift in for you. I believe in them and they believe in me. If I can help them by scoring goals and they help me by serving me the ball then we can go a long way.

“Football is a team sport, we want to win games. I’m pleased with how (Saturday) went and hopefully we can do it again next week.

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“For me the most important thing is to make sure that the team ends as high as possible. We have to aim for the top six. We are really close. I have to deliver for my team. If the team performance is good and I can be a part of it then it is the best thing ever.”

It was notable to hear Koeman, a notoriously tough taskmaster, speak so openly about Lukaku’s qualities after Saturday’s game. The Dutchman is not one for the big statement, so his words carried weight.

So too those of Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer, who described the Belgian as “unplayable” after his Bournemouth masterclass.

“I know how good I can be but you have to put the work in,” Lukaku responds. “I’m willing to do it.

“I’m never going to hide from any critic I get whether it is in the past or the future. This is something we have to go through as footballers. We are paid to perform and I just want to perform.

"I want to do my best for the team and help the team win so that the club can get where it wants to be in the future.”

Admirable focus, for a 23-year-old. And with Lukaku firing, who knows where Everton might finish the campaign?