Manchester City beat Club America 4-1 on penalties
Manchester City’s latest signing Yaya Toure put on a good show in his first match for the club, as City beat Club America 4-1 on penalties in the end. During the first 90 minutes of play both teams fought hard and the match ended at 1-1.
The Ivorian cut off his ties from Barcelona and made his way to the blue side of Manchester. He was very impressive in the first match and gave heart to the City fans that the big money buy was a correct one. Manchester City was in control in the first half of the match and dominated the possession.
There were some new names in the team that were bought in the transfer window, and there was a sense of anticipation to see how the new team would play together. Mancini was impressed with the way his team adapted to the new inclusions and dominated the proceedings.
Another African player in the side, the Togo Striker, Emmanuel Adebayor was also in good touch. The former Arsenal man had recently said that he is not threatened by the influx of players at City and will fight for his place. He had said that he is confident that he will be the number one striker for City in the upcoming season. Adebayor did no harm to his claims and opened the scoring for the visitors. Adam Johnson made a surge into the Club America box following another silky move by City; though he was brought down just inside the danger area. Adebayor stepped up to the spot and slotted in the penalty without much fuss on the 36th minute mark.
Mancini decided to push his team and tried out 6 more players in the 2nd half; the move did not pay off and the Mexican side got back into the game. The coordination that was evident in the first half was not there anymore and City started to give away the ball regularly. Club America made good use of the sloppy play by City and Enrique Esqueda slotted in off a counter move to get the teams level.
There was good news for City when Shay Given was sent on, the Irish keeper was feared to be away for few more weeks but he made a remarkable recovery after injuring his shoulder at the end of last season. Given was looking good and did make 2 excellent saves to keep the match level. Manchester City did have their share of chances in the 2nd half to win the match; Shaun Wright-Phillips made a threatening run down the wing and sent a good ball in the box, but the header from Adebayor was off target. Daniel Montenegro from Club America also tried his luck with a fierce shoot from 25 yards, but the shot just went past the right side post.
Finally it went to penalties and Shay Given proved that he has recovered to full extent as he made 2 brilliant diving saves, to give City a 4-1 win in the penalty shootout.
Mancini was also looking to test out the England international Shaun Wright-Phillips and Gareth Barry who had been away on national duty for the World Cup. Mancini, after the match, said that he was very pleased by the performance of his team, and was satisfied with the fitness levels of Philipps and Barry. The Italian said that he always knew that Toure would be a good fit in the City outfit and he has started on a good note.
Roberto Mancini said that last season they started with the goal of finishing 4th and making it to the Champions’ league, but in the end some bad results left them short. He added that this season his team is stronger and more focused and they will not only aim for 4th but will actually challenge Manchester United and Chelsea for the title.
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