European champions Manchester United defeated fellow English Premier League club Portsmouth 2-1 in a pre-season friendly played at the Abuja National Stadium in Lagos on Sunday.
United went ahead after 50 minutes through Chris Eagles before Carlos Tevez doubled their advantage in the 63rd minute when he struck home from the edge of the box.
Jermaine Defoe pulled a goal back for FA Cup winners Pompey in the 90th minute with a brilliant individual goal.
Both teams were playing for the very first time in Nigeria, which boasts a huge fan base for the English Premiership.
However, this was not reflected in the attendance as the 60,000-capacity Abuja Stadium was not even half-full.
United, without Wayne Rooney who was nursing a ‘dead’ leg picked up in Saturday’s win over Kaizer Chiefs in South Africa, controlled the early exchanges.
They should have gone ahead after just five minutes from the penalty spot after Glenn Johnson fouled Frazier Campbell.
Tevez tucked away the spot kick but the referee overruled it after an encroachment before the Argentine crashed his second effort against the woodwork.
Campbell then missed a sitter in the 24th minute when he went through the Portsmouth defence but shot wide with only goalkeeper David James to beat.
He would have made amends in the 37th minute, when he again went through only to be denied by James.
