Five things we learned as Romelu Lukaku scored his first Manchester United goal to earn win over Real Salt Lake

A beaming smile graced the face of Romelu Lukaku after slotting the ball into the unguarded Real Salt Lake net to open his Manchester United account.

Lukaku’s first United goal made it two-out-of-two against MLS outfits for Jose Mourinho’s side, albeit they were made to work far harder than in the romp against LA Galaxy 48 hours earlier.

United were sluggish to emerge from the blocks and after a stunning last-gasp challenge from Jesse Lingard prevented RSL breaking the deadlock, the hosts went ahead moments later when Luis Silva took advantage of some slack defending from Phil Jones.

But United gradually found their feet; drawing level when Henrikh Mkhitaryan fired home from the edge of the area, before the midfielder turned provider. Mkhitaryan’s superb first-time cross into the feet of Lukaku saw the £75million striker just about to manage the bring the ball under control, wait for the RSL keeper to go to ground and then tuck it home.

There was a sour note or two to the night though.

Mourinho’s men were reduced to 10 midway through the second half after Antonio Valencia was issued a straight red for taking retribution into his own hands against Sebastian Saucedo. Minutes earlier, Saucedo’s ugly challenge on Juan Mata had forced the Spaniard off.

Here’s five things learned from the game:

If United replicate the laboured approach play which too often plagued them last season, then it won’t make the most of Lukaku’s talents. Lukaku wants the ball into his feet early; either with raking balls down the channels to run at defenders or sharp passes around the area where he can explode into life. For the opening half-hour, the Belgian had none of it. There was only one harmless long-ranger to show for his efforts. But he linked up well with Lingard for Mkhitaryan’s equaliser, took advantage of a brilliant pass from the Armenian for his goal and then the same combination almost paid off again moments later.

Depleted ranks forced Mourinho to turn to the kids at times last season, but Timothy Fosu-Mensah could be involved on merit this time around. The 19-year-old was all-action at right-back; almost non-stop in his desire to get forward and support the attack. One low cross which just eluded the outstretched leg of Lukaku was a beauty. Of the other youngsters involved, Scott McTominay fired just wide from 20 yards, while Andreas Pereira delivered a cross that Chris Smalling somehow headed over from point-blank range. But Fosu-Mensah produced the most rounded display and harbours the potential to put some pressure on Valencia and Matteo Darmian for the right-back slot.

Victor Lindelof’s £31m arrival has only served to increase the competition in a United back-line which boasted the second best defensive record in the Premier League last season. It’s tough to judge whether Lindelof will be an automatic first-choice alongside Eric Bailly or if a fierce battle lies ahead to oust Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones. The latter didn’t do himself any favours against Salt Lake though. There was an almost slow motion element to the way Luis Silva crept onto Jones’ shoulder and then outmuscled him, before firing the hosts in front.

Once again Mourinho opted to field a different XI for each half, yet after minimal recovery time from the Galaxy encounter, United were far more sluggish and lacked the same crispness in their passing. Playing at 4,000ft above sea level will have been something of a shock, admittedly, but United will inevitably be judged with more scrutiny against Manchester City on Thursday. Mourinho may have to do without Mata for that game too after Saucedo raked his studs down the back of the ex-Chelsea man’s Achilles. Valencia’s retribution was over-the-top and needless (albeit a red card was excessive) but his frustration was somewhat understandable.

Patient, more than capable and content to play back-up to David De Gea, it’s no surprise why Mourinho decided to hand Sergio Romero a new contract. In his first appearance of pre-season, half-time substitute Romero had little to do. Preston-born Luke Mulholland’s wayward first-time shot from the edge of the box was the only sniff RSL had of an equaliser in a disjointed second half. That was until the 90th minute when Kyle Curinga received the ball down the right-hand channel and struck a powerful shot towards the near post. It required Romero to readjust and produce an excellent tip around the post. Curinga even congratulated him on the save.