It was not a yearning to feature in matches like this that drove Raheem Sterling away from Liverpool, but the young England forward could be happy with his Manchester City debut, all the same, as he took just three minutes to open his account for his new club.
Sterling’s first touch in his team’s pre-season tussle with Roma – part of the so-called International Champions Cup in Australia – did not augur well, as the £49m signing tripped over the ball, bringing jeers from a smattering of fans in the 31,000 crowd in the MCG.
But his next contribution was much more like what City fans will hope to see regularly from the 20-year-old, as in the third minute he raced on to a fine through-ball by Kelechi Iheanacho and slotted past the goalkeeper from 20 yards out.
Miralem Pjanic equalised for the Italian side shortly afterwards with a wonderful long-range strike but City dominated in the first period, their attacking players zipping imaginatively around David Silva, who controlled the first period with his elegantly deadly touches and movement.
Sterling should have been awarded a penalty mid-way through the first half when he was taken down by Alessandro Florenzi after he twisted past the defender in the box, but the referee waved play on.
Both teams made a raft of changes at half-time, with City replacing everyone except Iheanacho and Vincent Kompany. An errant pass by one of Roma’s substitutes, Ashley Cole, presented Iheanacho with a perfect opportunity to put City back in front and the 18-year-old Nigerian finished impeccably. City have high hopes for Iheanacho and the teenager’s performance – technically deft, physically strong and mentally keen – showed why.
The intensity of proceedings dwindled as the game progressed, but Roma made it 2-2 in the 86th minute thanks to a fine 20-yard free-kick by Adem Ljajic. City prevailed 5-4 in the subsequent shootout, with Joe Hart saving two penalties as well as scoring one.
