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Sandy • Romelu Lukaku danced between defenders, avoiding an incoming slide tackle from the left, a scrambling goalkeeper and another man racing in from the right. Then the superstar striker picked out a spot in the right corner of the net and fired, scoring his first goal for his new club here on Monday night.

That's why Manchester United spent a reported $97.9 million (£75 million) on its big summer acquisition, buying Lukaku from Everton earlier this month.

And that's a big reason why there is more than just an ocean separating United and Real Salt Lake, whose entire payroll is somewhere around $7.5 million.

For one night, however, the underdogs wanted to prove the gap was closer than most might have thought.

RSL fell 2-1 in its exhibition with the English superpower United at Rio Tinto Stadium. But RSL's starters played Manchester's stars to a 1-1 score before coming off the field at the 30-minute mark.

"It was fun. I though we did well," RSL captain Kyle Beckerman said. "We got the guys we wanted to get on the ball … and scored a really nice goal. We would have definitely liked to come out of that 30 minutes with a 1-0 lead but, all in all, it was what we wanted."

United, the most popular and powerful soccer team in the world, had plenty of supporters at Rio Tinto Stadium. They surged toward manager Jose Mourinho as he walked along a stretch of the north end before the game. They shrieked when superstar midfielder Paul Pogba waved during warmups. The south end fans, some of whom typically prefer to direct curses toward opposing goalkeepers, cheered as United's usual starting goalie David de Gea walked onto the field.

But those cheers were overtaken by drums and song and smoke when RSL forward Luis Silva scored the first goal of the match, tracking down a perfect pass from Jefferson Savarino and beating the goalkeeper to his right in the 24th minute.

United got on the board five minutes later, as Jesse Lingered set up Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the equalizing goal.

It was only an exhibition game, but it carried a little extra meaning for some RSL players.

"Before the game, [the messages from the coaching staff] were about, 'Go enjoy yourself,'" Beckerman said. "And when I came back from warmup, I was like, 'Forget about enjoying yourself. Let's go win this thing.' This is a chance — we might never play Manchester United here again. So it's a big opportunity to try to get a win or a good performance over a world-class team."

Other connections were more personal. Midfielder Albert Rusnak spent years as in the youth academy of the club's rival, Manchester City.

"A little bit, I would say yeah," Rusnak said when asked if the match held more meaning because of his past. "I grew up in City. For me, that was the club in Manchester. But I know how big Manchester United is, so it's a great experience not just for me but for the whole team."

The scoreline stood at 1-1 when RSL coach Mike Petke brought his starters off the field, saving their legs for an important league match in Portland on Wednesday. With a lineup of Salt Lake reserves on the field, Lukaku pounced to score the go-ahead goal before halftime.

Mourinho had praise for RSL's starters.

"This team that played the first [30] minutes, they are well coached, good ideas, good understanding of the game," he said. "… I really like the way they play."

The manager, however, took issue with the aggressive play of some of RSL's substitutes, specifically Sebastian Saucedo, after United midfielder Juan Mata suffered an ankle injury.

RSL now turns its attention to the second half of the Major League Soccer season, starting with the midweek matchup against the Timbers. Salt Lake currently sits four points out of the last playoff spot in the West. But Rusnak said his team should have the confidence to make its push.

"Today I think we showed to everybody that we can play great soccer, even against a bigger club," he said.

afalk@sltrib.com

Twitter: @aaronfalk