Enzo Maresca took charge of Manchester City for the first time on Saturday. His side drew 1-1 with Inter Milan in a pre-season friendly at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong before losing 3-1 on penalties.
The match marked the start of Maresca’s reign after he replaced Pep Guardiola in the summer. Meanwhile, Inter claimed the Asahi Super Dry Trophy.
Divin Mubama gave Manchester City the lead in the 14th minute. Antoine Semenyo drove towards the byline and crossed for the young striker to finish from close range.
Inter equalised six minutes later. Benjamin Pavard slotted home from near the penalty spot after City failed to clear a cross. Neither team scored again in normal time despite several chances in the second half.
The game went straight to penalties. Manchester City missed their first three efforts. Rayan Ait-Nouri, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez all failed to convert.
Claudio Echeverri scored for City with a Panenka. Inter converted three of their kicks. Matteo Lavelli netted the decisive spot-kick to secure a 3-1 shootout win for the Italian champions.
Afterwards, Enzo Maresca told reporters: “I’m very happy with the performance. Many positive things, including minutes for the legs, that’s very important. Like always, there are things we can do better, but slowly, slowly, we’re going to improve.”
