For Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, there should only be two regrets. One was that Eric Bailly came and went in 11 minutes, a substitute substituted, stretchered off in the latest instance of his seemingly endless injury problems. And the other could be that this endorsement of his ethos did not come in a competitive game. Uefa Champions League finalists, and potential rivals for a top-four finish, were beaten as Tottenham were defeated 2-1 in Shanghai on Thursday. If Spurs, who arguably gave more minutes to rookies, may have taken the game less seriously, it was a game to suggest Solskjaer’s emphasis on youth and pace could be rewarded in the months ahead. United’s first goal came from Anthony Martial, still only 23 and whose elusive, electric display indicated that a mercurial performer who can rely on momentum has been galvanised. Their winner came courtesy of Angel Gomes, the 18 year old who was their youngest debutant since Duncan Edwards. Their outstanding individual, meanwhile, was Solskjaer’s first buy. Dan James, the £15 million (Dh68.8m) signing from Swansea City, showed scintillating speed; Moussa Sissoko, no slouch himself, resorted to bringing him down three times and the Frenchman’s frustration was apparent in a stamp that would have brought his expulsion from a competitive game. James promises to win United plenty of set-pieces. He also fashioned the chance when Martial curled a shot against the post, dispossessing Harry Winks and surging forward. It was the kind of pressing United rarely showed under Jose Mourinho, followed by Solskjaer-style quick counter-attacking. Sides who commit too many men forward against United should beware: they will not find it possible to regroup if they lose the ball. Martial also looked enviably sharp as he showed he can lead the line if Marcus Rashford is missing; he was less a focal point in attack than a lithe channel runner. His goal was an error from Paulo Gazzaniga, Hugo Lloris’ understudy, and stemmed from a pass from another youngster, Andreas Pereira. His performance offered a glimpse of a future without Romelu Lukaku, whether or not the Belgian joins Inter Milan. United’s forward line was faster and more fluent in his absence. The pace was redolent of United’s swift start when Solskjaer was caretaker and offered evidence his pre-season focus on fitness is being justified. Yet if Gomes’ turn of foot was a feature of the decider, so were his technical skills as he exchanged passes with Juan Mata and finished with a precise sidefoot. Gomes, like his fellow teenager Mason Greenwood, has the potential to be an impact substitute this season. Paul Pogba, who has eyed the exit but, unlike Lukaku, was involved, showed the range of his skills with a thunderbolt that almost flew in. Another of United’s talismen seems to have resolved his future. David de Gea has agreed a new contract. Arguably his finest performance last season came against Tottenham; there were reminders of it with an early save from Dele Alli. After his spring slump in form, it was a welcome sign of a return to his normal excellence. The defensive concerns for a United side who conceded 32 more league goals than Liverpool last season came in the room afforded to Alli and then Heung-Min Son, when the South Korean sprang the offside trap and chipped a shot over the bar. Yet the first goal United conceded in a pre-season that has brought four straight wins was unfortunate: Lucas Moura’s tame shot took a sizeable deflection off Luke Shaw to wrong-foot Sergio Romero. As Spurs applied pressure in their search for a second equaliser, the performances of Axel Tuanzebe, who came on to replace the stricken Bailly, and Victor Lindelof, suggested they could be a possible centre-back partnership if Harry Maguire does not join. Bailly may be out of the reckoning – “It seems he has twisted his knee and at first sight, it doesn’t look great,” Solskjaer said – but the pecking order could be reshaped by emerging talents. Which, in other respects, is how he likes it.
