ABOUT THE LAST NIGHT MANCHESTER DERBY AND LESSONS LEARNT

Big Rom's big night - Lukaku leaves first lasting impression as Man Utd down City
19 minutes ago / autty

The £75m front man was the star of the 2-0 win over rivals City in Houston, with Marcus Rashford also playing a key role

Romelu Lukaku will take part in far more important fixtures during his Manchester United career but his first ever taste of Manchester derby action will take some forgetting. A spectacular opening goal crowned a wonderful personal display which will have United’s fans salivating at the thought of what he could deliver in the years to come.

The 2-0 win over Manchester City in Houston came with an obvious string of caveats. The International Champions Cup clash had been played down as a competitive training session by Jose Mourinho in the lead-up, while City were always going to be behind the eight-ball given that they only recently arrived Stateside and were taking to the field for the first time.

But none of those factors will stop Lukaku gaining a whole load of confidence out of his performance, and for United there are excellent signs of what the £75 million man offers his new side. This was their first game against Premier League opposition even if it was played slightly below Premier League pace, and Lukaku seemed a perfect fit for a newly-vibrant United outfit.

Even before finding the net he had played a key part in some of United’s best moments. Fitter and sharper than City, the Reds dominated the early proceedings and Lukaku’s movement helped to create quality openings in the final third.

He led the line well, but also dropped in when necessary to occupy City’s centre-halves away from the wandering runs of Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and on another day Lingard and Mkhitaryan might have scored from just such attacks.

It was fitting, though, that Lukaku should open the scoring. Paul Pogba played a slide-rule pass over the top of the defence which enticed City’s new £35m goalkeeper Ederson to leave his line. The young Brazilian has gained a reputation for being quick to rush out of his area, but on this occasion Lukaku did superbly to nod the ball beyond him and then fire home left-footed first time from the narrowest of angles. It was a finish reminiscent of Mark Hughes' memorable goal in the 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup final win over Barcelona, only with less reward at the end of it.

Within two minutes the game was practically over as a contest, with Mkhitaryan’s wonderful run through the centre opening up space before the Armenian played in Rashford on the right. The England man’s composed finish doubled the lead and City never looked likely to come back. There was still time for Lukaku to thunder a shot off the angle of post and bar in the second half, but United had already done enough.

While Rashford had initially found Kyle Walker a tough adversary down the left, it was notable that he had played his part after his switch to the opposite flank. With Lukaku’s influence growing, Mourinho was asked pre-match whether he would have to play Rashford just behind the former Everton man to get him regular game time this season.

“I don’t think Marcus is a number 10,” replied the United manager. “I think he’s an attacking player who can play in a two or one, he can play besides, can play everywhere, he has a good working way too if you demand a little bit more defensively, he can play together with Lukaku.

“If he can play with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the same team, he can play with Lukaku no problem.”

Judging by the initial evidence of the two together Mourinho is on to something, just as Lukaku’s performance full of power, poise and panache suggests United knew what they were doing in calling time on the pursuit of Alvaro Morata to bring him to Old Trafford.

Lukaku could be even better than Ibrahimovic - 5 things we learnt from Manchester Derby
22 minutes ago / autty

Belgian scored again in a Man United shirt, while Ederson had a Claudio Bravo moment in Man City goal

MANCHESTER UNITED beat cross-town rivals Man City in Houston on Thursday night.

New signing Romelu Lukaku was on the score sheet for Jose Mourinho’s men as they won the first ever Manchester derby to be played outside the UK.

Marcus Rashford also netted in a comfortable win for the Red Devils.

Here are five things we learnt from NRG Stadium in Houston.

Early signs Luk good

ROMELU LUKAKU produced another clinical finish to score again in a Manchester United shirt.

The £75m Belgian looks to be in fine form in front of goal and has another dimension that Zlatan Ibrahimovic didn’t have.

Lukaku was able to spin in behind defenders using his pace and will be a real handful for anyone he comes up against this season.

Devilish duo

LUKAKU was a menace up front, but Rashford could be the perfect compliment with his pace from the flank.

Rashford had a real battle with City’s new right back Kyle Walker in the first half, and his goal came from the other side.

That, much like Lukaku’s, was another clinical finish.

Ed case

EDERSON looked solid enough in the Man City goal, apart from one Claudio Bravo-esque rush of blood.

The 23-year-old was caught in no man’s land by Lukaku for Man United’s opening goal as he charged off his line.

City really need a goalkeeper they can trust, like Joe Hart a few years back, especially after Bravo’s performances last season.

No pep in their step

UNITED have already played two games on their tour of the US and looked to be sharper, fitter and fresher than Pep Guardiola’s men.

This was Man City’s first of only four pre-season fixtures and Guardiola has a task on his hand getting his side ready for the opening game of the season against Brighton on August 12.

For both first-half goals, City were carved apart all too easily with their United counterparts half a yard quicker.

TV battle

MANCHESTER UNITED still rule the town in a commercial sense.

This derby was only available to UK viewers through United's club channel MUTV.

The Red Devils station have exclusive rights to all United pre-season friendlies, meaning City fans wanting to watch the game had to subscribe to their rivals' channel.