Manchester United rely on Eric Bailly, Marouane Fellaini could win battle with Ander Herrera and a new left winger is needed - the lessons Jose Mourinho learned against Real Madrid

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Jose Mourinho's Manchester United side were deservedly beaten by Real Madrid on Tuesday night and the defeat showed he has a lot of work to do if they are to compete with the Spanish giants.

Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro, in particular, won the midfield battle against Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba while Isco ran riot between United's defence and midfield. 

It wasn't all bad news for Mourinho as £75million new-boy Romelu Lukaku scored his first competitive goal for United and Matic looked assured at the base of his new side's midfield. 

Here, Sportsmail analyses the lessons Mourinho learned from the Super Cup defeat against his former employers.

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho will be debating his team selection ahead of West Ham

Romelu Lukaku has the character to lead United's line 

United's big-money summer recruit had a few bizarre moments with the former Everton forward missing a sitter, taking a foul throw and trying to control the ball when he was clearly in an offside position.

Lukaku should have taken his chance despite striking his shot with his weaker right foot but he didn't down tools after his horror miss. 

The 24-year-old took his second golden opportunity with ease by following up a shot from Matic.

Lukaku has big boots to fill but he showed he can deal with the pressure of being United's main striker.

If he gets the right service he will score goals for fun but he is relying on Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Co. 

Romelu Lukaku covers his face in disappointment after missing a golden chance on Tuesday

The Belgian ace did not left the miss affect his game as he went on to pull a goal back

Eric Bailly is crucial to United's title hopes 

It would be harsh to criticise Victor Lindelof because as Mourinho said before the game, he needs time to settle into life at United. 

Chris Smalling, despite his doubters, performed admirably in the middle of a three-man defence but Eric Bailly will be Mourinho's first-choice centre back. 

The Ivorian is head and shoulders above Smalling, Lindelof and Phil Jones so Mourinho needs him to be fully fit for the majority of the campaign. 

Bailly and Jones are likely to start Sunday's Premier League opener against West Ham after sitting out Tuesday's 2-1 defeat through suspension.

It will be interesting to see how the duo deal with the lively Javier Hernandez during the Old Trafford encounter. 

United missed Eric Bailly during their 2-1 defeat by Real Madrid due to suspension 

Victor Lindelof (left) needs time to bed into the Manchester United defence after his move

Back to a four-man defence?

Mourinho deployed Jesse Lingard and Antonio Valencia as wing backs against Real Madrid because he was worried about the threat posed by Gareth Bale and Isco. 

Lingard looked out of his depth as a left-sided wing back while Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are wasted in that position. 

Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo could do a job on the far left of a five-man defence but they are expected to be out until September and December respectively.

It would come as no surprise if Mourinho reverted to a four-man defence at the weekend with Valencia switching to right back, Matteo Darmian at left back with Jones and Bailly in the middle. 

Jesse Lingard struggled at wing back and was hauled off during the half-time interval

Mourinho addresses his players during Manchester United's 2-1 defeat by Real Madrid

Marouane Fellaini could win battle against Ander Herrera 

To get the best out of Pogba, United have to play three central midfielders with the Frenchman at his peak when playing from the left.

Matic has been bought to play in the middle of the three so that leaves one space in United's engine room. 

Herrera started on Tuesday night but couldn't really affect the game due to Kroos, Modric and Casemiro's dominance. 

Marouane Fellaini hasn't always seen eye to eye with the Manchester United fanbase but you can never question his commitment.

He made a big difference when he replaced Herrera in the 56th minute and will have given his manager a selection headache ahead of Sunday's game. 

Does he stick with Herrera's energy or plump for Fellaini's passion? 

It's a difficult decision but you can see why Mourinho laughed off an offer by Galatasaray for the 6ft 4in midfielder ahead of the new season. 

Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini impressed when he came off the bench

Ander Herrera started in a three-man midfield with Pogba and Nemanja Matic before going off

Back Anthony Martial or buy a new left-sided winger 

Search Martial on Twitter and you will be bombarded with tweets by United fans questioning why the Frenchman didn't start or even make an appearance from the bench.

Mourinho elected to use just two substitutes (Rashford and Fellaini) despite having Juan Mata and Martial to call on. 

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss clearly doesn't trust Martial to play as a left wing back but he may give him the chance to impress on Sunday. 

Martial showed during pre-season that he is capable of beating a man - something that United lacked against Real Madrid. 

The 21-year-old will be the first to admit he was below-par last season but Mourinho needs to put his faith in him to reap the rewards. 

If there's no way back for Martial, Mourinho must buy a left-footed winger before the window shuts at the end of August. 

Gareth Bale, for now, is out of grasp so another bid for Inter Milan's Ivan Perisic could be on the horizon following United's Super Cup defeat.  

Anthony Martial was left on the substitutes' bench and appears to be out of favour

Mourinho watches on as Manchester United target Gareth Bale dribbles with the ball