Manchester United came from behind to make it two wins from two in pre-season, with Romelu Lukaku scoring his first goal for the club in a 2-1 success over Real Salt Lake at the visually-stunning Rio Tinto Stadium.
The Reds started brightly in the new black adidas kit as Scott McTominay twice fired shots at goal, but the home side took a shock lead when Luis Silva met a through-ball from Jefferson Savarino to prod past Joel Pereira, prompting an explosion of noise and ticker tape from the jubilant local supporters.
Parity was soon restored thanks to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s left-footed shot that flew into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the penalty area. It was the Armenian’s second goal of the tour following his second-half strike in the 5-2 win over LA Galaxy at the StubHub Center two days earlier.
With a Major League Soccer match against Portland Timbers to come on Wednesday, Real Salt Lake made 11 changes on 33 minutes and United took the lead shortly after through new signing Romelu Lukaku, who scored his first goal for the club after meeting a fine pass from the sharp Mkhitaryan.
Jose Mourinho made 11 changes at half-time, but one of those - Juan Mata - was forced to come off with an apparent injury shortly before the hour mark. Antonio Valencia was then shown a straight red card following a challenge on Sebastian Saucedo, much to the manager's dismay on the touchline.
Aside from Luke Mulholland and Kyle Curinga missing chances to equalise for the hosts late on, United saw out the match in comfortable fashion and flew back to Los Angeles with another good workout in the bag.
THE LINE-UPS
Real Salt Lake first half: Rimando, Beltran, Glad, Horst, Phillips, Beckerman, Stephen, Savarino, Rusnak. Plata, Silva.
Real Salt Lake second half: Fernandez, Wingert, Silva, Maund, Acosta, Brody, Mulholland, Besler, Saucedo, Hernandez, Lennon.
United first half: J Pereira, Fosu-Mensah, Lindelof, Jones, Blind, Carrick, Pogba, McTominay, Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Lukaku.
United second half: Romero, Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Darmian, Herrera, Fellaini, A Pereira, Mata (Mitchell 59), Martial (Tuanzebe 90), Rashford.
Sent off: Valencia
TALKING POINT: LUKAKU’S FIRST GOAL
The Belgium international started up front for the first time, after playing the second half against LA Galaxy, and he did not disappoint the expectant United fans in Utah, executing a cool finish past goalkeeper Eduardo Fernandez after calmly rounding a defender inside the penalty area.
His celebrations were understandably muted, considering this was merely a pre-season friendly, yet the maiden strike as a Red will undoubtedly boost his confidence following his recent transfer from Everton. He will now look forward to Thursday’s game against Manchester City in Houston and possibly facing his former Toffees team-mate John Stones. Of course, you can watch that game live on MUTV.
POSSIBLE INJURY CONCERNS
Jose spoke pre-match about his hope to avoid injuries, yet that unfortunately was not accomplished in Utah as Mata and Darmian both limped off in the second half and could be doubtful for the derby.
TRENDING TOPIC
If you follow United on social media, fans who were at the game, or any journalists in attendance, then your timelines will no doubt have been peppered with photos of the picturesque Rio Tinto Stadium, which stands in front of the magnificent Wasatch and Oquirrh mountains.
The venue quite possibly has the best backdrop in football, despite the views being temporarily blurred at 5pm local time when a forecasted storm rolled through the area, prompting an official warning from the club for supporters to seek shelter. Thankfully, the skies had cleared by kick-off and the match was played out in scenes that were perfect for photographers. #NoFilter!