Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho found the back of the net as Manchester United defeated Arsenal 2-0 in a friendly at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Fans of the two Premier League teams from New York and New Jersey saw a lively first half with both goals. In the second half, when both teams made a lot of changes, the game lost its way.

Andre Onana, a Cameroonian custodian who joined United on Thursday in a £44 million deal from Inter Milan, did not play even though he flew out to join the team on its tour of the United States.

Back-up After Harry Maguire, a defender, was replaced by Fernandes as captain, Tom Heaton started in goal. Fernandes wore the captain’s armband.

Antony, a Brazilian winger, had United’s first chance when he was left alone in the middle of the box, but he messed up his shot and it went harmlessly wide.

Arsenal started their tour of the United States with a 5-0 win over the MLS All Stars on Wednesday. Gabriel Martinelli came close to scoring the first goal, but Heaton made two great saves to keep him out.

At the half-hour mark, United took the lead when Fernandes cut in from the right and shot with his left foot low enough to fool Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Seven minutes later, Sancho made it 2-0 when Gabriel, an Arsenal defender, mis-kicked the ball on the half-way line. The England forward ran away and shot the ball home with confidence.

United was still looking for a central striker in the transfer market, so Sancho played in the middle instead of on the wing, where he usually plays. He did a good job with the change.

After halftime, both Erik Ten Hag and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta used all of their players, which made the game less intense. United’s lead was never in danger, though.

Kobbie Mainoo, who is only 18, played well in the middle of United’s midfield, and Fernandes had a lot of good things to say about him.

“Honestly, Kobbie is a great player, he shows great resilience. Everyone can see it. He’s good on the ball, strong, he can defend and attack. He’s still pretty young but we see a bright future for him. Hopefully he will get more minutes,” said the Portuguese.

At the end of the game, both teams agreed to a penalty shootout no matter who won.

Even though there was nothing on the line in the shootout, which United won 5-3, both managers agreed that it would be a good idea for their players to see how they did from the spot.

United will play again on Wednesday against Real Madrid in Houston, while Arsenal will play Barcelona in Los Angeles.

But Barca’s friendly against Juventus, which was supposed to be played later on Saturday, was cancelled because a virus spread through the Spanish team and made everyone sick.

“A significant part of the blaugrana squad has a viral gastroenteritis,” Barcelona said in a statement.

At least a dozen players were sick, the Spanish media said.