Nani stars again as United put three past Guangzhou

The 19-year-old's magnificent chip capped another memorable evening on a largely successful trip and suggested comparisons between Nani and compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo may not be too far wide of the mark.

Wayne Rooney and Lee Martin were also on target for the Red Devils, although, as they head home from China tonight, Ferguson does have a few problems to ponder.

With Ryan Giggs and Edwin van der Sar joining Owen Hargreaves on the sidelines with various knocks, United have not exactly emerged from their two-week trip unscathed.

Paul Scholes flew home on Monday to begin a three-week lay-off after suffering a knee injury in Seoul, so, as Gary Neville, Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer missed the tour entirely to work on their fitness and Park Ji-Sung and Ben Foster are both out until the new year following surgery, United are hurtling towards the opening weekend in a fortnight with a worryingly long list of injuries.

Gabriel Heinze and Anderson are due to bolster Sir Alex Ferguson's ranks next week as they are expected to report for training following their respective Copa America campaigns.

Whether Heinze returns is open to serious doubt given it has now emerged the Argentina defender has sought legal advice over United's refusal to sell him to Liverpool.

The wrangle went some way to explaining why Ferguson played Danny Simpson, normally a right-back, on the left as United need to find some cover for Patrice Evra should Heinze depart, which now appears inevitable, whether he moves to Anfield or not.

Another player seemingly headed for the exit door is Alan Smith, who himself crossed a great divide when he left Leeds for United in 2004.

While a number of clubs have enquired about the England international, there has so far, according to chief executive David Gill, been no formal bid.

Given he spent the opening 62 minutes at the Guangzhou Olympic Stadium sitting near the end of a very long bench, almost as far away from Ferguson as it was possible to be, while Dong Fangzhuo, Martin and Darron Gibson were given a chance to shine, Smith's days at Old Trafford appear to be numbered.

Nani is only just starting his United career following his £17million move from Sporting Lisbon.

Already the speedy winger has made a positive impression and his goal, United's second in a comfortable win over the Chinese Second Division outfit, brought a touch of class to proceedings.

Rooney started the move with a super-charged burst to the edge of Guangzhou's box. Having run into trouble, Rooney then played a pass to Michael Carrick, who promptly fed Nani on his left.

First the teenager terrorised his marker before sending a sublime chip over the goalkeeper's head which bounced in off the far post.

Clearly, the warning from Ferguson over his trademark back-flip celebrations had been heeded as Nani opted merely to race away in delight pursued by a gaggle of team-mates.

By that stage, United were already in front thanks to Rooney's clinically executed penalty.

A third arrived in splendid fashion seven minutes after the restart when Martin belted home a long-range effort.

However, the loudest cheer of the night was reserved for the introduction of Ronaldo 14 minutes before the end.

It had originally been suggested the winger would miss out altogether after suffering picking up a minor knock in training. But, to the unbridled glee of the fans who had been given only two weeks' notice of the game, Ronaldo made an entrance anyway to try a few tricks.