Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford fire Manchester United to victory over City in first-ever derby on foreign soil

The strike duo gave the United faithful hopes of a more explosive attack in the upcoming season by creating numerous chances against City, who were playing their first match of pre-season

Friday 21 July 2017 02:07 EDT
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Romelu Lukaku was on target for the second consecutive game
Romelu Lukaku was on target for the second consecutive game (Manchester United)

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Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford put Manchester City to the sword as Manchester United won the first-ever derby to be played on foreign soil.

Lukaku struck first in the 37th minute with his second goal for his new club after arriving from Everton last week, the Belgian finding the net with a sensational finish on the half-volley from a narrow angle which exposed the positioning of City's new £35m goalkeeper Ederson.

Two minutes later, Rashford took Henrikh Mkhitaryan's pass all alone to the right of the City penalty area and placed the ball beyond Ederson to ensure the red half of Manchester prevailed in Houston.

The strike duo gave the United faithful hopes of a more explosive attack in the upcoming season by creating numerous chances against City, who were playing their first match of the pre-season in the International Champions Cup opener.

Lukaku missed two more tantalising opportunities early in the second half, misdirecting a header off a corner from Rashford and then rattling the frame of the goal with a rocket off his left foot.

"I couldn't be happier with what he's doing, and I could not be happier we managed to sign him before the pre-season," United manager Jose Mourinho said of Lukaku on MUTV. "(He's a) team player, who holds the ball, who waits for support, who allows the team to leave pressure zones. People look to goals and chances, I have a different perspective."

United, who have already played two games in the U.S. against Major League Soccer clubs LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, will play another four pre-season contests against Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valerenga and Sampdoria.

City have games against Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United following the derby clash.

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