Enzo Maresca’s first match in charge of Manchester City ended in familiar fashion on Saturday, as the Premier League side were beaten 3-1 on penalties by Italian champions Inter Milan following a 1-1 draw at the Kai Tak Stadium.
The clash, which opened the Hong Kong Football Festival, drew a crowd of more than 42,000 and marked the first real glimpse of how the Italian coach intends to shape City following Pep Guardiola’s departure this summer.
While the result offered little to shout about, many City supporters could believe the individual performances from a squad still finding its feet under new leadership.
Semenyo and Mubama give City the perfect start
City settled quickest and took the lead in the 14th minute through a slick move down the left. Antoine Semenyo drove at the Inter defence before squaring the ball across the box, where Divin Mubama was on hand to finish from close range and send the travelling section of City fans into celebration.
The lead lasted just six minutes. Inter responded through Benjamin Pavard, who found himself unmarked inside the penalty area to level the scores and settle the contest into an even second half of possession and pressure from both sides.
Chances came and went after that, but neither goalkeeper was beaten again in normal time, leaving the match to be decided by the customary pre-season shootout — this time for the Asahi Super Dry Trophy.
Young talent shines despite the defeat
If there was a silver lining for Maresca, it came from the performances of two of City’s younger attacking players.
Semenyo, who had a hand in the opening goal, was a persistent threat throughout, while academy graduate Ryan McAidoo caught the eye with a lively second-half display that repeatedly troubled the Inter back line. McAidoo struck the post at one stage and gave Inter’s defenders an uncomfortable evening.
City made wholesale changes at the break, with four substitutions rung in as Maresca rotated his squad — a decision that included withdrawing the goalscorer Mubama.
It is the kind of squad-testing approach expected of pre-season fixtures, and one that will have given the new head coach a broader look at his options ahead of the campaign proper.
Ultimately, the shootout went Inter’s way as they converted three of their four spot-kicks to City’s one, sealing a 3-1 win on penalties and denying Maresca a winning start in his new role.
What comes next for Manchester City players
Despite the defeat, there will be no great alarm at the Etihad. Pre-season results are rarely a reliable guide to what follows once the Premier League begins, and City’s focus now shifts to the remainder of their Asia tour.
The squad travels to Seoul this week, where they face a K-League All Stars XI on Wednesday before taking on Atlético Madrid the following Sunday to close out their preparations.
For Maresca, the emphasis so far has been less about results and more about building understanding with a squad he knows well from his previous spells at the club. Saturday’s outing in Hong Kong offered an early, imperfect but instructive first step in that process.
City will hope that by the time competitive football returns, the spirit shown by the likes of Semenyo and McAidoo translates into the kind of consistency that has defined the club throughout the Guardiola era.
