Manchester United vs. Club America: New Signings Promise a Better Season

Manchester United vs. Club America saw Louis van Gaal's men get their International Champions Cup campaign off to a winning start, and their new signings were instrumental in that.

Morgan Schneiderlin's goal was the difference between the two sides, but all four new faces made a notable impact on the game.

It was a clash that took the "game of two halves" cliche to an extreme. Van Gaal put out an entirely new XI at half-time.

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Three of the four new boys formed part of United's first-half XI and each made important contributions.

In addition to his goal, Schneiderlin added the kind of steel to United's defensive midfield that he has been brought in to provide. This was particularly important given that Michael Carrick got off to a shaky start.

Matteo Darmian demonstrated plenty of the solid defensive work his reputation suggested he would be capable of. America often looked to attack down his side, but he marshalled his man to great effect, negating much of the threat that came his way.

Memphis Depay was surprisingly deployed as a No. 10 and looked very comfortable there, linking up well with Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney. He showed immediately why fans have been excited about his arrival, with the kind of tricks, flicks and running with the ball that mark him out as a special talent.

He missed an opportunity to set Ashley Young in on goal, choosing to take on a shot himself, which looked the wrong decision. However, the moment at least demonstrated his obvious confidence in his own abilities.

In spite of Schneiderlin's goal, Bastian Schweinsteiger's performance may have been the most noteworthy of all of the new signings.

He was included as part of the second-half XI. This was a much younger side and it is easy to speculate that Van Gaal included Schweinsteiger here to provide leadership and guidance to the youngsters.

Whether that was a deliberate choice or not, he certainly did provide that leadership, as Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News tweeted.

The aura around Schweinsteiger has been palpable since his arrival. Leadership is clearly second nature to him, and his presence fills a deficit in that department that has long been obvious at United.

Indeed, the United debuts of these new signings were so promising exactly because of the deficit each so obviously fills.

Darmian is a natural, defensive-minded right-back. He is willing and able to join in with attacks, but his defensive positioning will be a huge asset to a back four that has been without that quality since Rafael's last injury-free season in 2012/13.

Schneiderlin provides cover for Carrick, as well as a different, more physical option to the Englishman. Assuming Van Gaal eventually prefers 4-3-3 to the 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1 on show on Friday night, he will have a difficult choice around his holding midfielder.

Depay combines pace with a spark of creativity and invention that will be a handful for defenders. Neither Angel Di Maria nor Adnan Januzaj were able to consistently offer this last season. Depay's explosiveness means he will offer a different option, something United's attack has definitely been missing.

Schweinsteiger, as well as addressing the deficit in leadership, is also an upgrade in quality over any central midfielder at United since Paul Scholes was in his pomp.

All of this bodes well for the season ahead. Unlike the start of United's last pre-season tour of the USA, there was no blowout result. There were, however, plenty of very promising moments.

If the new boys can stay injury-free, their presence has already made a significant improvement to—in the manager's famous words—"the balance of the selection." There is still work to be done, of course, and that top-quality centre-half still looks a must, as does resolving the situation around David De Gea.

However, assuming they build on their debut form as the season progresses, United's new signings look likely to make a big difference on the campaign ahead. They make the Red Devils a much more dangerous proposition.

Bleacher Report is Official Media Partner of the International Champions Cup North America