Manchester United defender Daley Blind has insisted that every clash with city rivals Manchester City is a "derby", ahead of the club's first overseas derby on Friday morning.
Billed as a friendly but will be far from it
The Red Devils have had an excellent start to their pre-season preparations across the pond in the United States, winning both their clashes thus far against LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake without really breaking into second gear.
Things are set to get tough from here on out for José Mourinho's men as they begin their run in the International Champions Cup, traveling across the states taking on the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
But their first and arguably biggest stop will be in Houston when they take on their old rival in the NRG Stadium for their first clash away from England, though billed as a friendly with Pep Guardiola's men it is expected to be far from it and Blind insisted that the derby mindset will always be there.
"It will be a friendly," Blind told NBC Sports. "It will be pre-season but from the inside everyone feels like it is a derby and it will always be that way."
"It is always special to play games like that," the Dutchman added. "The derby always brings something extra and it will definitely be like that in Houston."
Great signing, great player, great person
The trip across the Atlantic has also allowed Mourinho's new signings to get a run out and show their skills to their new fan base, Victor Lindelöf has proved solid at the back but new face that most United fans will be familiar with is striker Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku has established himself as one of the league's deadliest strikers in the last few seasons, which was enough for The Red Devils to splash out big money on tying down the striker to a five-year deal.
The 24-year-old made his debut in the 5-2 win over LA Galaxy but managed to open his account in the win over Salt Lake, and Blind insisted that there will be "many more to come" from the striker.
"He is a great signing," he said on the capture of Lukaku's signature. "A great player and a great person as well, now that I have met him for a while."
"He works very hard, he is very eager to score goals," the 27-year-old stated. "And very eager to help his teammates and create chances."
"So I am very happy he scored his first goal," Blind concluded. "I think there are many more to come."