Sandy, Utah. (Monday July 17, 2017) – Real Salt Lake fell 2-1 to one of the world’s biggest clubs in Manchester United at Rio Tinto Stadium in front of 20,241 fans in an international friendly on Monday.
RSL controlled the pace of the game early on as they jumped out to an early lead through FW Luis Silva in the 23rd minute as he slotted home his first goal in an RSL uniform.
It didn’t take long for the visiting side to equalize as Henrikh Mkhitaryan curled a wonderful shot past GK Nick Rimando.
Nine minutes after RSL took the lead, Head Coach Mike Petke made an entire lineup change as 11 new players entered the game in the 32nd minute. The changes that were made provided players from Real Monarchs a chance to elevate their game and play against some of the best in the world.
Manchester United found the go-ahead goal six minutes from the break when Mkhitaryan again played a role when he played in new signing Romelu Lukaku who beat his defender and GK Lalo Fernandez for his first in a United shirt.
The second half provided more opportunity for young RSL and Monarch’s men to play against United as Petke made more changes during the second half of play.
Chances for both sides came few and far between in the second half of play as the score remained 2-1 in favor of United, moving the Claret-and-Cobalt to 0-3-1 all-time against European opposition.
UP NEXT: RSL will return to MLS action as they travel to northwest to Portland to face the Timbers for the first time in 2017. Last year RSL held a 0-1-2 record against the Timbers after playing the Timbers once in each third of the season. This will be the second trip to the Pacific Northwest this season after falling to Seattle 1-0 in late May at Century Link Field.
GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:
RSL – Luis Silva (Jefferson Savarino) 23rd minute: A beautifully weighted through ball from Savarino put Silva in 1v1 with the Manchester United center-backs. Silva did well to fight off his defender and slot home the game’s first goal.
MU – Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Jesse Lingard) 29th minute: A quick interchange of play at the top of the box for United gave Mkhitaryan a quick turn and shot on goal as he curled home the equalizer from 18 yards.
MU – Romelu Lukaku (Henrikh Mkhitaryan) 39th minute: A ball played across the path of Lukaku in front of goal and Lukaku did the rest. He beat his defender and the goalkeeper to notch his first goal in a Manchester United shirt.
KEY SAVES AND DEFENSIVE STOPS:
MU – Timothy Fosu-Mensah, 11th minute: A quick cross played in by RSL striker Luis Silva caught United on the back foot. As the ball was played through Fosu-Mensah did well to clear the danger with a sliding challenege.
MU – Joel Castro Pereira, 16th minute: A well worked attack from RSL saw a deflected cross fall to the feet of Luis Silva who laid a first-time ball to the feet of RSL striker Joao Plata. Plata took his first time shot which deflected into the waiting arms of Pereira who did well to get his body in front of the shot.
MU – Jesse Lingard, 19th minute: A wonderful tracking run from the United striker broke up a sure goal for Joao Plata as his last ditch sliding challenge on the edge of the six-yard-box was enough to clear the danger.
RSL – Aaron Maund, 57th minute: A through ball from the United midfield found the feed of Anthony Martial who attempted a first time shot. Maund’s sliding challenge was enough to deflect the ball out for a corner kick.
MU – Sergio Romero, 90th minute: A first time blast from RSL defender Kyle Curinga forced Romero into a save at his near post which he deflected out for a corner kick.
NOTES:
- The match was the second time in as may summers that RSL has played host to European competition after a match against Italian giants Inter Milan resulted in a 2-1 loss for the home side last summer.
- Marcelo Silva made his RSL debut after signing with the club on July 3.
- A slew of Monarchs players received invaluable time against Jose Mourinho’s men to gain experience against the best players in the world.
- RSL has played four games against European opposition including the game against Manchester United during their 13-year history. RSL now sits 0-3-1 against European sides.
Match: Real Salt Lake vs Manchester United
Date: July 17, 2017
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
Attendance: 20,241
Weather: Cloudy and 92 degrees
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Real Salt Lake 1 0 1
Manchester United 2 0 2
RSL – Luis Silva (Jefferson Savarino) 23’
MU – Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Jesse Lingard) 29’
MU – Romelu Lukaku (Henrikh Mkhitaryan) 39’
Lineups:
Real Salt Lake: (4-2-3-1): Nick Rimando; Tony Beltran, David Horst, Justen Glad, Demar Phillips; Kyle Beckerman, Sunny; Jefferson Savarino, Albert Rusnak, Joao Plata; Luis Silva
32’: Lalo Fernandez; Chris Wingert (Reagan Dunk 71’), Marcelo Silva, Aaron Maund (Chris Schuler, 71’), Danilo Acosta; Nick Besler (Chase Minter, 70’), Luke Mulholland; Sebastian Saucedo (Justin Schmidt, 71’), Jose Hernandez, Andrew Brody (Kyle Curinga, 77’); Brooks Lennon (Daniel Haber, 70’)
Manchester United: (4-4-2): Joel Castro Pereira; Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones, Daley Blind; Michael Carrick, Scott Mctominay, Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitarian; Jesse Lingard, Romelu Lukaku
Second Half: Sergio Romero, Matteo Darmian, Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling, Antonio Valencia; Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera, Andreas Pereira, Juan Mata (Demi Mitchell, 60’); Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford
Stats Summary: RSL/MU
Shots: 10 / 11
Shots on Goal: 3 / 3
Saves: 1 / 2
Corner Kicks: 5 / 5
Fouls: 8 / 8
Offside: 1 / 3
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
MU – Antonio Valencia (ejection) 68’
OFFICIALS:
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referees: TJ Zablocki, Joshua Mills
4th Official: Brad Jensen
