Enzo Maresca’s first match as Manchester City head coach ended in penalty shootout defeat as Inter Milan claimed a 3-1 victory after a 1-1 draw in their pre-season friendly. Divin Mubama gave City an early lead, but Benjamin Pavard equalised before half-time and goalkeeper Ivan Provedel proved decisive from the spot.
City settled quickly under their new manager and opened the scoring after 14 minutes. Antoine Semenyo drove low across the penalty area and Mubama arrived at the far post to finish from close range after the winger’s direct run unlocked the Inter defence.
Inter responded with greater urgency and created chances through Francesco Pio Esposito and Aleksandar Stankovic before drawing level midway through the first half. Pavard reacted fastest after a loose ball fell inside the area and drilled his finish into the bottom corner.
The contest remained evenly balanced before the break. Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Stankovic and Federico Dimarco from distance, while Semenyo continued to threaten and forced Josep Martinez into another save.
Both managers changed almost their entire teams at half-time, but City controlled much of the second period. Savinho injected pace down the flank, Rico Lewis kept the pressure on and Vitor Reis came closest to restoring the lead. The defender struck the crossbar from a corner before Provedel reacted sharply to save his follow-up effort.
City continued to push forward during the closing stages. Lewis, Nico Gonzalez and Savinho all tested the Inter defence, while Ryan McAidoo struck the post after driving into the box from the right with 10 minutes remaining. Inter still carried a threat on the counter-attack, but neither side found a winning goal before the final whistle.
The shootout quickly swung in Inter’s favour. Rayan Ait-Nouri fired City’s opening penalty over the crossbar before Piotr Zielinski converted. Abdukodir Khusanov struck the post, although Donnarumma briefly revived City’s hopes by saving Davide Frattesi’s effort.
Provedel then stopped Nico Gonzalez’s penalty before Mattia Mosconi converted for Inter. Claudio Echeverri scored City’s only successful spot-kick, but the Italian side had already secured victory.
Although the result went against Maresca, City’s performance offered encouraging signs, with several young players impressing during an energetic display against strong opposition.
