Manchester City thrash Real, United go down to Barcelona
Guardiola’s team wins 41 as Neymar sinks Man United in the Champions Cup
LOS ANGELES: Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City has spent big to bolster their defence this summer, but showed they will be a force to reckon with at the other end this season in a 4-1 friendly win over Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Real were unable to contain Guardiola’s side once they got their noses in front early in the second half. But after Nicolas Otamendi pounced from a couple of yards out to smash the ball into the net, the entire complexion of the International Champions Cup encounter changed.
City’s new £32 million keeper Ederson - culpable in last week’s friendly defeat to neighbours Manchester United - was forced to produce smart saves to deny Isco, Karim Benzema and Casemiro, with the latter also heading against the post. Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero both went close at the other end, but once Otamendi found the net in the 52nd minute, on the rebound after Stones’s header was saved, City were rampant.
Substitute Raheem Sterling calmly tucked away a lovely through-ball from the impressive Kevin De Bruyne just moments after firing a shot inches wide.
The advantage was then extended to three after Stones scuffed a shot into the far corner from a De Bruyne corner.
But the icing on the cake arrived for Guardiola’s side in the final 10 minutes, when 17-year-old Spaniard Brahim Diaz cut inside off the right and curled a beauty into the top corner from the edge of the area. Real grabbed a late consolation when Oscar Rodriguez produced a stunning effort from 30 yards which soared into the top corner.
BARCELONA WIN
WASHINGTON: Neymar, serene amid a frenzy of transfer speculation, scored the first-half goal that gave Barcelona a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday in an International Champions Cup friendly.
The Brazilian striker, reportedly pondering a 222-million euro ($256.8 million) move to PSG, showed why the French club would be willing to pay a world-record price to get him. He delivered his third goal in two matches in the exhibition tournament as Barcelona handed the English Premiership club their first defeat of the pre-season.
TWO-GOAL EDER SINKS BAYERN MUNICH
SINGAPORE: Eder scored two headers to lead Inter Milan to a 2-0 victory against a lacklustre Bayern Munich on Thursday in a preseason friendly game in Singapore.
There was a scare for the German champions when Franck Ribery limped off towards the end of the first half, but coach Carlo Ancelotti said later he suffered a minor ankle injury and would be back in action in days.
Bayern dominated early on but it was Inter that managed to get a goal in the eighth minute against the run of play.
An Antonio Candreva cross found 30-year-old Eder, who dispatched his header past the Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich.
Playing in front of a crowd of about 23,000 in the city-state’s main stadium, Inter scored their second in the 30th minute on another quick counter attack.
Croatian winger Ivan Perisic picked out Eder with a pin-point cross, leaving the striker to score his second header of the game.