The visitors soaked up some intense pressure before Xia Qixi seized upon a defensive error to fire Li Bing's side into the lead but United, with manager Kevin Blackwell watching from the stands, moved through the gears after the interval to leave their sister club still searching for the first victory of their English tour.

But Chengdu, United's sister club in the Far East, looked a much improved outfit to the one which travelled to Europe a couple of seasons ago as the experience of Chinese Super League football pays dividends.

Li Tie, who returned home following an injury-plagued spell at Bramall Lane, anchored Chengdu's midfield while Demar Stewart, the West Indian who previously played for White Star Woluwe, United's Belgian development partners, delivered a strong performance at the heart of defence.

Youngster Jiang Xiaoyu, who has previously spent time training at United's youth academy, impressed with his touch, control and poise.

But the undoubted highlights of last night's match were strikes from Lee Hendrie, Nicky Law and Kyle Walker which were fit to grace any game; let alone this 'friendly' friendly at the Bright Finance Stadium.

Nick Montgomery and Ugo Ehiogu also palyed for United.

Chengdu complete their schedule against Sheffield FC at the same venue tomorrow.

Sheffield United: Preview for the season, including ins and outs and squad numbers. Don't miss Saturday's Green'Un newspaper

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