Manchester United continued their good start to 2018 on Friday night by beating Derby County 2-0 to progress to the FA Cup fourth-round.

Despite dominating the game and recording 28 shots on goal, United needed a stunning strike from in-form Jesse Lingard to finally break the deadlock six minutes from time.

After great build-up play involving Anthony Martial, the returning Romelu Lukaku sealed the victory in the 90th-minute by bagging his 16th goal of the season.

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In the matches which followed his poor Manchester derby display, the Belgian caused a bit of a stir by seemingly refusing to celebrate his goals.

However, he was full of joy after his right-footed effort sneaked past Scott Carson, and Jose Mourinho thinks he knows the real reason why.

Lukaku returns for United

The £75 million man lasted just 14 minutes of the 0-0 draw against Southampton before suffering a head injury and missed the subsequent game at former club Everton.

With Marcus Rashford failing to take numerous chances, Lukaku came on at half-time for Henrikh Mkhitaryan and produced a fine all-round performance.

Mourinho on Lukaku's celebration

Mourinho was asked about the 24-year-old's celebration in his post-match press conference, where he delivered a very funny response.

"Do you want the truth?", the Man Utd manager began. "If we have a (FA Cup) replay, we don't go to Dubai - and everybody wants to go. Everybody wants to go!

"Did you see the players celebrating the second goal? Everybody wants to go. Everybody wants to have a week of good training, good facilities, sun... everybody wants to go."

The 54-year-old added: "But now, we still depend on Stoke's result, because if Stoke gets a draw (against Coventry on Saturday), we don't go to Dubai."

So, Mourinho feels that the fact Lukaku's goal confirmed the win over Derby, and a potential trip to Dubai, was behind both his celebration and the clear excitement of his teammates.

The Red Devils are planning to leave for a mid-season break on Monday, given that they don't play again until January 15, when they welcome Stoke City to Old Trafford.

An amusing response from the "Special One", but all Man Utd fans can agree that they're happy to see Lukaku back in the team and back on the scoresheet.

What did YOU make of Man Utd's win over Derby, and the players' celebrations after Lukaku's goal? Can he fire United to glory in 2018? Have YOUR say in the comments box below!