HOUSTON, LUKAKU GAVE US A PROBLEM
DeBruyne praises his Belgium team-mate Romelu and declares: He’ll score 20 to 25 goals for United.. he’s one of the world’s best
KEVIN DE BRUYNE is backing compatriot Romelu Lukaku to be a hit at Manchester United.
Lukaku hit a stunning goal in United’s 2-0 win over local rivals City in Houston, in the first Manchester derby to be staged outside the UK.
The United striker beat City keeper Edersen to the ball then scored with a first-time finish from a tight angle.
And City midfielder De Bruyne, who knows Lukaku well from playing together for Belgium, is convinced the forward will prove his worth for United.
“I think he’ll do very well,” said De Bruyne, following City’s Stateside derby defeat. “Everyone knows what his qualities are and he will do what he has to do.
“There’s a lot said about these big transfers, people mock him and other players on social media. You know it’s there, but you just can’t care about that. You just have to do your job and I think he’ll score 20 to 25 goals for United a season and that will speak for itself.
“If you see his ratio of goals, it’s incredible. He’s one of the best in the world and what is he, 24? You can say that about him at that age.
“Obviously he has his way of playing. Don’t compare him to a Messi. He’s a big, physical guy and can be awesome.”
City, playing the first fixture of their three-game US tour, were second-best to United at the NRG Stadium in front of a crowd of 67,401 and Marcus Rashford made it 2-0 shortly after Lukaku’s opener. United, who have played two more games than City in the States, were sharper than Pep Guardiola’s side, but De Bruyne (left, with Lukaku) was unconcerned. “It was only the first game,” said De Bruyne. “We tried to play a good game, but in the end maybe United were a little bit sharper than us. “The way we played was great, but it was the first game. We need to go into these games fully because we need to prepare for the new season. “This year we want to win
trophies. That’s what we need to do as a club like City, but we’re not the only ones with that aspiration. There are six or seven others as well. “It should be better than last season, but also don’t forget there’s a lot of change again this summer with a lot of players coming in or going out. “We don’t know yet how many will arrive, but it’s been a busy transfer period as everybody knows. So we have hopes for the new season.” City have already signed goalkeeper Edersen and midfielder Bernardo Silva, with several more signings set to arrive before the window closes. The Blues are close to completing a £26.5million move for Real Madrid right-back Danilo and are set to sign Monaco left-back Bernard Mendy for £50m. De Bruyne acknowledged the change in personnel this summer and conceded it could mean that City take time to adapt as a team.
“In the beginning it’s always difficult,” said De Bruyne. “The new players have to adapt to the way we play and they’re used to different systems. You need more than a week of preparation to get used to it and get going.
“We know, especially defensively, we’ve lost a lot of players, so probably a lot of people will come in too. I don’t know who we’re going to get, but hopefully there will be a few more yet.” MAN UTD: De Gea (Romero 45), Valencia (Fosu-Mensah 78), Smalling, Lindelof (Jones 45), Blind (Darmian 45), Ander Herrera (Fellaini 62), Pogba, Lingard (Pereira, 78), Mkhitaryan (Carrick 62), Rashford (Martial, 62), Lukaku MAN CITY: Ederson, Walker, Kompany (Stones 45), Adarabioyo (Otamendi 45), Fernandinho (Mangala 45), Toure, De Bruyne (Nasri 45), Foden (Zinchenko 76), Roberts (Brahim, 45), Aguero (Jesus 45), Sterling (Sane 45)