It’s two wins out of two for Manchester United following their second pre-season match of the summer. After beating a heavily rotated LA Galaxy side 5-2 on July 15, they followed up that victory by deploying Romelu Lukaku for his first start to triumph 2-1 over Real Salt Lake.
However, Jose Mourinho’s side didn’t have it all their own way. The hosts took the lead, Juan Mata was taking off injured and by the end their captain for the second half Antonio Valencia had been sent off – and not for the first time in a summer friendly.
Below are five things learned from United’s 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake.
United must learn to release Lukaku early
Not only a goal on his first non-competitive start but a winner. The Belgian showed how tricky a customer he can be for defenders to deal with as he ran onto a beautifully weighted ball in from Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the left that hit him in his stride before he showed his composure to pause, step around Real Salt Lake’s back tracking defenders and slot his shot home.
It was exactly the sort of goal his new club will be hoping he can score on a regular basis, although United must make adjustments to get the most out of the striker. On a few occasions he was caught offside, or found too late to get the run on his opponents. Lukaku is a forward who is at his best when he is unleashed early to get at defences. United need to get used to the fact that they’re no longer playing up to the more static and slow Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Mkhitaryan needs freedom to thrive
One player who did seem to benefit from Lukaku’s more mobile presence was Mhitaryan. Not only did the Armenian tee up the Belgian for his goal, he also found the equaliser, set up in part by the striker who passed to Jesse Lingard who slipped in the former Borussia Dortmund attacker.
Mkhitaryan popped up on the right, down the left and through the centre, and seemed inspired by the new possibilities opened up by the fluidity of a front line full of runners. While Ivan Perisic is on the slate to become United’s third signing of the summer, the two-footed Croatian’s versatility may well bring out even more in the Armenian and his free role in the side.
Back three won’t be the default system next season
After testing out a back three against LA Galaxy, Mourinho reverted to a back four with Phil Jones sand Victor Lindelof in the centre, flanked by Daley Blind on the left and Timothy Fosu-Mensah on the right. In the second half, a wholesale change in personnel saw the same shape but with Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly in the middle and Matteo Darmian and Valencia out wide.
Somewhere between these two set-ups is what most United fans would pick as the team’s strongest defensive line up. There’s no guarantee that a back three will be the team’s Plan A next season.
Fosu-Mensah and Pereira are banging on the door of the first team
From right-back and in midfield, in the first and second halves of the match, respectively, Fosu-Mensah and Pereira were two of the players doing the most to try and seize the initiative and force chances out for United against Real Salt Lake.
The Dutchman got forward well from full-back, and also roamed inside to link up with the midfield, and even found himself almost one-on-one with the goalkeeper at the end of one move. Pereira, meanwhile, arrived on the pitch after half-time seemingly intent on proving he can be the player to pull the strings. It didn’t quite happen for his but the game saw flashes of his quality, including a delivery into the box that Smalling almost put away.
Lingard taking the Rooney approach to making himself indispensable
Prior to his decline, United’s former captain and all-time record goalscorer was a key player for reasons beyond his ability to find the back of the net. During the years in which the club tried to get by with minimal reinvestment in midfield, he would drop back, track runners, win the ball and generally do whatever it took to patch up the soft centre of the team, even when playing as the striker. That’s an example Jesse Lingard seems to be following.
In the first half against Real Salt Lake, the Warrington-born forward was not only all over the final third, plucking passes and making runs, he was also on hand to chase down his opponents, and put in two key blocks to deny potential goalscoring opportunities in United’s own box. Mourinho is a manger who famously rates defensive work rate as a virtue among his attackers. Is Lingard taking the Rooney approach to making himself all but undroppable?
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