Manchester United continued their unbeaten preseason run under Louis van Gaal, while Inter Milan defeated Real Madrid on penalties and New York Red Bulls stunned Arsenal in their preseason friendlies on Saturday.
Wayne Rooney scored a brace to help United defeat Serie A side AS Roma 3-2 in the International Champions Cup. Roma scored a couple of goals towards the end but the Red Devils held on to register their second win under van Gaal.
The Italians nearly took the lead in the third minute but Juan Iturbe, after beating the offside trap, failed to keep his lob down. However, it was the Premier League side that took the lead through their talisman Rooney, who struck the opener in 36th minute from just outside the box.
Juan Mata had a good game and doubled the lead three minutes later, by chipping Roma goalkeeper Lukasz Skorpupski from Rooney's smart pass. Things went worst for the Italian outfit when Rooney completed his brace minutes later, by converting a penalty kick, after Danny Welbeck was brought down inside the box.
van Gaal's men failed to create chances in the second half, while Roma managed to pull one goal back 15 minutes from time through Miralem Pjanic, who caught out Ben Amos with a spectacular shot from his own half. And with three minutes remaining on the clock, Francesco Totti scored the club's second from a penalty but United held on to maintain their unbeaten run under the Dutchman.
Watch the highlights of Manchester United vs AS Roma
Meanwhile, Inter prevailed over Real on penalties, after holding the Champions League winners 1-1 in regulation time.
Real played without their star players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos. However, they controlled the proceedings right from the start.
Gareth Bale, who failed to convert an easy chance early on, unleashed a superb strike to the top left corner from 25 yards to put the Spanish outfit in the lead.
Inter tested Real's defence on a number of occasions in the second half, after making a slow start and got the equaliser in the 68th minute through Mauro Icardi. The Serie A outfit was awarded the penalty when Nemanja Vidic was brought down by Ruben Sobrino.
In the shootout, Real missed three of their five penalties, while the Italian team converted three to clinch the encounter in front of 62,583 fans.
"We played well today," Inter manager Walter Mazzarri said. "We have young guys and we started a new cycle. Obviously, we're not going to be happy just participating (in the tournament). We're looking to obtain results."
Watch the highlights of Real Madrid vs Inter Milan
Meanwhile, in the other match, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry played a crucial part in New York's 1-0 victory over the Gunners.
Henry continually troubled his former club and nearly scored early on but Wojciech Szczesny got a hand to his shot. The Frenchman again tore apart the Londoners' defence in the ninth minute and passed the ball to Bradley Wright-Phillips, who failed to provide the finishing touch.
The Frenchman played a crucial role in setting up the winner, when his corner eventually reached Wright-Phillips, who made no mistake in finding the back of the net.
In the second half, the Gunners thought they equalised through Abou Diaby, when he slipped the ball into goal but was ruled offside. The visitors were completely off colour against the Major League Soccer (MLS) side and failed to find the equaliser.
Watch the highlights of New York Red Bulls vs Arsenal
