José Mourinho has crushed the hopes of Manchester United supporters who yearn for the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford, but Marcus Rashford provided his manager with a gentle reminder that he may not need the Real Madrid forward after all.
The spotlight was on Romelu Lukaku, who made his debut in the second half of United’s friendly against Los Angeles Galaxy, but it was Rashford who dazzled as Mourinho’s side started their tour of the United States with a comfortable 5-2 win.
Ronaldo, who spent six seasons at United before being sold to Real in 2009, has told friends that he wanted to return to Old Trafford after informing the Spanish champions last month of his desire to leave the club.
The likelihood, however, is that Ronaldo, 32, will stay, and the claim that he wants to depart is thought to be a tactic to earn a new contract or get help from the club in fighting his tax avoidance case. “We have not been able to find a reason that made us think that Ronaldo could leave,” Mourinho said, adding that signing the Portugal forward was “mission impossible”.
Lukaku, for whom United paid Everton £75 million last week, linked well with Anthony Martial, one of 11 half-time replacements, but squandered a chance to score.
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His best chance came shortly after his introduction. Ander Herrera found Martial, who laid the ball into Lukaku’s path, but Brian Rowe, Galaxy’s goalkeeper, smothered the Belgian’s shot.
The debate about how much playing time Rashford will get this season has reared its head again after Mourinho opted to sign Lukaku as Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s replacement. It took just two minutes and 30 seconds for the 19-year-old to remind Mourinho of the assassin’s touch that he possesses.
Jesse Lingard, playing at left wing back in a 3-5-2 system, won the ball and released Rashford, who stroked the ball into the far corner in the blink of an eye. Rashford was just as clinical when he latched on to Juan Mata’s pass after 20 minutes. This time the teenager shot across the goalkeeper and into the far corner after losing his marker.
Rashford was then denied a hat-trick when he shot straight at Rowe. Marouane Fellaini, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Martial made it 5-0 before Giovani dos Santos replied with two late goals for the home side after a couple of errors by Victor Lindelof, the £30.7 million signing from Benfica, on his debut.
“He didn’t score goals, but he played better than the ones who did score goals,” Mourinho said of Lukaku.
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The United manager also said that Rashford has undergone a growth spurt, claiming that he had grown three centimetres in the past 18 months. His confidence will grow too, according to his manager.
“Last season he was not scoring goals and missing a lot of chances, but that’s part of the evolution,” Mourinho said. “He is going to score more goals than last season.”
● Sergio Romero has been rewarded with a new deal at United, keeping him at the club until at least 2021 with the option of a further year. The Argentina goalkeeper, 30, moved to Old Trafford two years ago and has proved an able deputy to first-choice David De Gea.