It may only have been a friendly but as far as sending out a warning to their main rivals for next season, this was pretty ominous by Manchester United. Having played a game the day before, against Kaizer Chiefs in Pretoria, they travelled 3,000 miles north to Abuja, Nigeria, changed eight players, rested Wayne Rooney because of a dead leg and missed a penalty - and still defeated a strong Portsmouth side 2-1.
Two second-half goals from Chris Eagles and Carlos Tevez gave Sir Alex Ferguson's side a deserved 2-0 lead 18 minutes into the second half and their victory never seemed in doubt despite Jermain Defoe's late goal.
Only Tomasz Kuszczak, Nemanja Vidic and Michael Carrick retained their places from the game against Kaizer Chiefs. With Rooney missing, Ferguson opted for Tevez and Fraizer Campbell together in attack. Portsmouth boasted a far stronger line-up with Defoe and Peter Crouch up front. However, it was United who proved to be the more menacing of the two sides early on and a golden opportunity to take the lead within five minutes. Campbell's pace appeared to catch the Pompey defence out and while David James had the wisdom to pull out of his challenge, Glen Johnson did not.
Tevez struck the penalty sweetly but referee Emmanuel Emire ordered a retake after spotting an infringement by Chris Eagles and on the second occasion, United's Argentinian forward blasted against the crossbar.
Crouch was just off target moments later as Portsmouth attempted to make the most of their reprieve. Mikaël Silvestre put Kuszczak in trouble with an ill-advised back pass, although the United goalkeeper managed to clear before Defoe closed in. Crouch then supplied a deft pass to Defoe but the former Tottenham striker could not collect, allowing Jonny Evans to step in and clear.
Eagles, meanwhile, wasted an outstanding chance midway through the first half after breaking clear, placing his shot disappointingly wide of the right-hand post. Silvestre is not known for his goalscoring expertise but the Frenchman tried his luck from long range and had James scrambling across his goal to make the save. Vidic robbed Defoe on the edge of the United box, setting in motion an end-to-end five-man move which finished with Eagles just failing to beat James from 12 yards.
Campbell was next to find the Pompey goal gaping but failed to beat James with a right-footed flick as United continued to dominate against the FA Cup winners. Harry Redknapp will not have been pleased with the way his team were playering and his mood must have darkened further as he lost Noe Pamarot and John Utaka to injuries within minutes.
Owen Hargreaves, meanwhile, has insisted he is ready to reap the benefits of missing Manchester United's tour of South Africa to cure a long-term knee injury. "The original plan was to go on tour, but I had a serious problem last season and missed a lot of games and it appeared again in the summer," he said.
"I have had some treatment, a course of injections, but there is a large gap between each one. It takes a lot of time, but the medical staff are hopeful and I think we have found the solution."
