Seattle (Washington), July 18 (IANS): Frenchman Morgan Schneiderlin scored his first goal for Manchester United in his maiden appearance for the English club as they defeated Mexican side Club America 1-0 in a pre-season friendly match here.

New signings Schneiderlin, Memphis Depay and Matteo Darmian were all involved from the start on Friday. German international Bastian Schweinsteiger, another new recruit, was one of 11 United changes used by United in the match.

Midfielder Schneiderlin's strike was a decisive one in a lacklustre encounter as he headed in a cross from Spanish midfielder Juan Mata.

"It was not good. It was difficult. The first surface is artificial and not natural grass. You can get more and more injuries in this sort of surface," United manager Louis van Gaal was quoted as saying by bbc.co.uk on Saturday.

"It was a big concern. That is the difference here in the USA. In American football, the grounds are used for American football, baseball and basketball matches. But in England we have the Old Trafford stadium and it is only used for football. It is different here".

United play the second match of their United States pre-season tour against Major League Soccer (MLS) side San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday.