Romelu Lukaku scored his first Manchester United goal as Jose Mourinho’s side overcame Real Salt Lake 2-1 in a fiery friendly in Utah.<\/p>\n
The Belgian, 24,\u00a0who signed from Everton for \u00a375m,\u00a0got the winner seven minutes before half-time to add to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s equaliser after United had fallen behind on 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
United then lost Juan Mata to injury and Antonio Valencia to a red card.<\/p>\n
“[Lukaku’s goal] is nice for him but not important for me,” said Mourinho.<\/p>\n
“I told him I love what he does. He assists, he moves. He holds the ball well. I like everything he does.”<\/p>\n
Mata limped off following a heavy challenge from Sebastian Saucedo but is expected to be out of action for a week at most.<\/p>\n
Valencia was then sent off for a tackle on Saucedo, referee Allen Chapman speaking to Mourinho before belatedly dismissing the Ecuadorian.<\/p>\n
“The delay was because the referee asked me to change the players and I didn’t because I don’t agree with the card,” added the Old Trafford boss.<\/p>\n
“Saucedo was really aggressive with what happened to Mata and some other actions where he was a bit dangerous. It’s pre-season so no problem – it’s a good experience.”<\/p>\n
United face Manchester City in Houston on Friday morning UK time (02:30 BST).<\/p>\n
Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n BBC Sport’s Simon Stone in Utah<\/i><\/p>\n You know when you don’t want to do something but you have to?<\/p>\n As soon as Valencia thundered through the back of Saucedo, referee Allen Chapman knew he had to act.<\/p>\n Chapman – whose previous claim to fame was being the first video assistant referee to make an actual decision during a United States Soccer League game in 2016 – first looked warily at Jose Mourinho. Then, after making sure the injured player was being taken care of, he walked over to the United manager.<\/p>\n Please take Valencia off, requested Chapman, aware dismissing a United player in a friendly would create a stir.<\/p>\n No, came Mourinho’s reply. So, almost apologetically, Chapman walked to Valencia, went to his back pocket and sent the Ecuador player off.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Romelu Lukaku scored his first Manchester United goal as Jose Mourinho’s side overcame Real Salt Lake 2-1 in a fiery friendly in Utah. The Belgian, 24,\u00a0who signed from Everton for \u00a375m,\u00a0got the winner seven minutes before half-time to add to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s equaliser after United had fallen behind on 20 minutes. United then lost Juan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[142],"tags":[5063,3,103],"yoast_head":"\n