Memphis Depay opens his Manchester United account in win over San Jose

ByAssociated Press ESPN logo
Wednesday, July 22, 2015

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Juan Mata and Memphis Depay scored five minutes apart in the first half in front of a big Bay Area crowd as the Red Devils beat the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 on Tuesday night for another preseason victory in the International Champions Cup.

Andreas Pereira added another goal on a header off Jesse Lingard's cross in the 61st minute for Manchester United after coach Louis van Gaal subbed all 10 outfield players at halftime.

Mata scored in the 32nd minute when he dribbled just inside the 18-yard box, hit the post and the ball bounced into the net after barely missing the outstretched foot of Depay.

Depay got his turn soon after when he connected in the 37th minute.

Fatai Alashe halved the deficit, sliding his goal in off an excellent cross from Shea Salinas in the 42nd minute for San Jose.

A couple hundred fans lined up near the player entrance to enthusiastically greet the Red Devils' arrival by police escort at sparkling first-year, 18,000-seat Avaya Stadium, which will host the MLS All-Star game next July.

The match had initially been slated for Memorial Stadium on the University of California campus in Berkeley but was moved to accommodate Man United since the club is staying in San Jose and training at the Earthquakes' complex this week.

Van Gaal stayed with his same starting 11 from a 1-0 victory against Club America on Friday at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

New midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger was among the 10 second-half subs.

After his recent departure from Bayern Munich, Schweinsteiger will make his highly anticipated Premier League debut when the schedule begins next month. He played for the World Cup-winning German team last summer in Brazil.

Depay put a warmup ball on the roof atop the Quakes' largest outdoor bar in North America. Another shot went into the bar on the open end of the stadium beneath the big screen scoreboard.

Before the match, Van Gaal could be seen chatting with former Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson.

In the fourth minute, Depay displayed some fancy footwork on a run before his shot deflected off goalkeeper David Bingham. Wayne Rooney and Mata each tried to get a look but the Spaniard's ball hit the side of the net. Depay put the pressure on again in the 13th as the Reds attacked early.

Manchester United players wore black armbands in tribute to eye specialist and University of Liverpool Professor Gail Stephenson, who recently died.

The Reds were without goalkeeper David de Gea and forward Antonio Valencia, each missing a second straight game with what van Gaal called minor injuries. He declined to provide further details.

Manchester United will remain in the Bay Area through the week and face Barcelona on Saturday afternoon at nearby $1.3 billion Levi's Stadium, new home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers.

Manchester United hadn't played in Northern California since May 1970.

A moment of silence was held before kick-off to remember six students killed in a Berkeley balcony collapse last month.

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