City 2-2 Roma, City win 5-4 on pens
An entertaining enough caper that included some promising plus points for City, most obviously a debut goal for Sterling, a fine performance and goal by Iheanacho and customary excellence from Silva.
Save! Hart tries to get inside Keita’s had, gesturing at the Malian that he knows where he’s going to shoot. KEita looks surprised but untroubled ... but then dabs a soft shot that Hart pushes away with no bother. City win 5-4!
Horsfield bangs it home, putting City back in front. 5-4 to City
Saved! Doumbia attempts to win the game with a Panenka... but Hart, after diving, reaches up to claw it away! The score remains 4-4!
Hart scores, walloping a superb shot into the top corner! 4-4
Falqué scores ... just! Hart went the right way and a got a good hand to it but failed to keep it out. 3-4 to Roma.
Lopes places a well-struck spotkick into the bottom corner, beyond Lobont, who went the right way. 3-3.
Destro sidefoots the ball into the bottom corner as Hart again flops the wrong way after going early. 2-3 to Roma
Navas rolls a low one past the keeper, who went the right way. 2-2.
Ljajic scores with a Panenka, or, as Joe Hart might call it, a Pirlo. 1-2 to Roma.
Kolarov wallops the ball into the night sky! A rank misjudgement from the defender. It stays 1-1.
Naingollan scores, blasting hard and low as Hart dives the wrong way. 1-1
Touré converts the first penalty, sending the keeper the wrong way to make it 1-0 to City.
Full-time: City 2-2 Roma
A fair result given Roma’s improvement and City’s sagging after all the half-time changes. Penalty shootout to follow ...
90+2 min: Frolics in the Roma box as Lopes fails to connect with a header from a Navas cross and the ball bounces out to Touré, who tries to sweep it into the top corner from 18 yards. But he puts it slightly wide.
90 min: City pop the ball about before Nasri shimmies pat one opponent and lets fly from 26 yards. The keeper bats it away.
89 min: Kolarov bangs a low ball across the face of Roma’s goal. Cole does well to stick it behind for a corner.
87 min: That equaliser means that unless there is a winning goal for either side, the outcome of this tussle will be decided by a penalty shoot-out, which is always fun.
GOAL! City 2-2 Roma (Ljajic 86)
Ljajic clips a fine 22-yard freekick over the bar and into the net past a diving Hart!
Updated
84 min: Touré brings down Doumbia on the edge of the City area in a tackle that looked legitimate to me. BUt the ref awards a freekick and a chance for Roma to draw level.
80 min: Time for Kompany to depart. He is replaced by George Evans and on his way way exchanges words with Pellegrini. What he said,. even lip-readers couldn’t tell you, because he did that thing of covering his mouth with his hand as he spoke. Maybe he really was discussing a topic of advanced strategic significance for City, but more likely that he, like most players who do that, was just repeating a gesture borne of an exaggerated sense of self-importance.
79 min: After a long bout of sterile Roma possession, Navas tries to lead a breakout by City. But a foul on half-way kills the chance and disrupts what little momentum was gathering.
Impressive skills from Barker... #mcfc #cityontour https://t.co/EMQZYVNu8k
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) July 21, 2015
76 min: The pace has sagged, the intensity waned, and there is a danger that if this match becomes any more friendly the players will start taking selfies on the pitch. Still 14 minutes to go...
72 min: Iheanacho departs after a fine performance that showed why City believe great things are to come from him. He is replaced by another highly-vaunted teenager, Enes Unal, whom the club signed from Bursaspor earlier this month.
69 min: Apparently there are 31,000 fans inside the MCG. It neither looks nor sounds like that, at least not on the TV. Still, those in attendance nearly at another City goal to cheer, as Touré swept a curling shot goalward from the edge of the area. Well held by the keeper. And, indeed, well held by City - hanging on to Touré was wise, and a boon for the Premier League. For he is boss, when on song.
Updated
65 min: A Naingollan shot from distance is deflected behind for a corner, as Roma come more into the game. The Italians look the more coherent side since all the half-time changes.
62 min: Hart hurls a long throw into the path of Navas, who traps it cleanly and then fires a pass to the feet of Iheanacho. It was a well-intentioned run by the young striker, but fractionally mis-timed. Meanwhile, Roma have withdrawn Pjanic and introduced Seydou Doumbia instead,
Updated
59 min: Freekick to Roma, about 35 yards out and central. Pjanic is feeling confident enough to shoot. And he drives the ball againt the head of a team-mate. One straight from the training ground, clearly.
56 min: City are showing that they have some talented teenagers coming through. Iheanachu has looked excellent, as already mentioned, and Barker has just produced a wonderful Zidane-turn to take him past an opponent and get another City attack going.
Updated
54 min: Delightful touches and movement takes City through the Roma rearguard. Navas pings a good ball into Lopes at the near post and the keeper, De Sanctis, stands up well to deflect the forward’s close-range shot wide.
53 min: Navas, one of the most disappointing newcomers to the Premier LEague in recent times, wanders towards the corner of the box and whacks a worthless shot high and wide.
GOAL! City 2-1 Roma (Iheanacho 50)
An impeccable finish from 16 yards by the young Nigerian for whom City have such high hopes. And all from a terrible assist by Ashley Cole, who inexplicably shanked an attempted crossfield ball into the path of the young striker.
Updated
47 min: Naingaollan picks up the ball in midfield and skitters past Nasri before picking out Ljajic, coming in from the left. He tries to beat Hart at near post but it flashes into the sidenetting.
46 min: So, just the nine substitutions for City at half-time, with only Kompany and the impressive Iheanachu remining from the first period. Roma have undergone a transformation too, with Ashley Cole entering the fray, just so we still have a representative of the Unpopular Transferee community on the pitch. Oh look, there’s Samir Nasri too.
Half-time: City 1-1 Roma
It took Sterling three minutes to silence the boors and open his City with a tidy finish. Pjanic equalised for Roma with a strike that would have been a delight even in a proper competitive match. It’s been pretty low-key stuff but Sterling has looked dangerous, in addition to scoring, and Silva has been masterful. Will either of them be back out for the second half? Let’s see.
45 min: Some school kids in the spare crowd appear to be counting down the second till half-time. IT’s been better than that, to be fair.
43 min: A rather casual cut-back by Pjanic would have made it to Gervinho in front of goal if Mangala had not intervened to hoik it over the bar for a corner. And from that corner City do not look at all clever, as De Rossi rises to meet it unperturbed by anyone in blue, and heads over from eight yards.
42 min: This time it’s Kompany who demonstrates good positioning and instinct to foil Gervinho, stretching out a leg to poke away the Ivorian’s intended cross to Totti.
40 min: Top defending by Clichy to edge Gervinho off the ball just as the Ivorian was about to shoot following some nimble interplay by Roma around the City box.
38 min: Silva tries to thread a curling ball around two defenders and into the path of Sterling. But that proves to be a feat beyond even him. On this occasion.
35 min: A lull. It is pre-season, after all.
32 min: If a cross is precise enough, then anyone can get their head to it, of course. And Silva is man who can provide such precision, and just did. After wriggling his way to the by-line, he dinked a lovely ball up to Iheanchu, who showed good neck flexibility to angle a decent header at goal from eight yards. The keeper saves without much trouble, though.
Updated
30 min: Sagna curls in a nice cross from the right but City don’t have any forward on the pitch likely to get a a head on such deliveries. Even Kelechi Iheanacho, the 18-year-old Nigeria who has impressed with his deftness and intelligence at centreforward so far, does not look capable of outjumping the Italian centrebacks.
28 min: Solid work by Kompany to cut out a Pjanic pass towards Gervinho. Then, despite slipping, the Belgian fed Mangala and City resumed passing their way forward. “Sterling has his faults but, as you suggested, he always tracks back and does a better job at it than many more experienced forwards - he’s way better than Ozil defensively,” reckons Mike MacKenzie.
Updated
26 min: Florenzi attempt a reprise of Pjanic’s goal and it’s a reasonable effort from 28 yards. Except off-target.
24 min: As ever, Silva is the chief conjurer for City. He is everywhere Roma are not, proving quite a pest for the Italians. He orchestrated another delicate move just now before ghosting into the box in an attempt to apply the finishing touch but Sterling mis-timed the intended headed pass to him.
21 min: Young players who transfer for a lot of money can often fall into one of two traps: either they try to do too much in an attempt to impress and justify their price tag (like Divock Origi for a while at Lille last season) or they become ultra-cautious so they can at least say they made no obvious mistakes (like Jordan Henderson early in his Liverpool career). So far Sterling is finding the right balance - he doesn’t look too eager to please, not nor is he shying away from responsibility. In fact, he should have had a penalty just now as he tricked his way brilliantly past Florenzi before being upended. It is a mystery how the referee did not think that was a foul. Pellegrini jumps off the bench in incredulous dismay, and even the Roma bench look embarrassed.
Updated
18 min: City are still in charge, probing constantly. Their movement - tricky if not exactly high tempo - is rather perplexing Roma. “Will the defence be City’s undoing?” asks Mokonzi before elaborating with dubious logic. “We know Toure cannot track back and Sterling is like Ozil in defence.” Well, presumably Fabian Delph is expected to screen more than Toure (and better than Fernando and Fernandinho) and you’re just completely wrong with the Sterling/Ozil comparison. Sterling is a proper fighter and diligent worker. Except when he has a tummy upset, obviously.
Updated
15 min: Totti swings in a dangerous corner as Roma, but Clichy nods it clear under no pressure.
13 min: Kompany, who needs to have a big season, strides forward from the back and attempts to show his playmaking attributes. And his sweeping crossfield ball mighty have proved half-useful if they’re had been any City player within 20 yards of it.
Updated
11 min: Lovely play by Silva to roll past De Rossi and float a foxy pass towards Sterling, who has so far operated at the left of a front three. And in an offside position on that occasion.
CIty 1-1 Roma (Pjanic 8)
Boom! Like Faith No More, that goal cam from out of nowhere! OK, strictly speaking, it (unlike FNM) was created by Gervinho, who rolled a simple ball across to Pjanic. But a goal did not look likely when the Bosnian received it 28 yards out. But he fired a superb swirling shot past Cabellero and into the net!
Updated
7 min: Iheanachu, who has looked nifty, dinks a nice pass into Sterling, who goes down under a challenge in the box. No pen, says the ref.
Updated
5 min: City are in complete control so far, monopolising possession and playing almost entirely in the opposing half. Roma look like they’re on holiday.
GOAL! City 1-0 Roma (Sterling 3)
Now that’s a better omen! A dainty clipped pass from Iheanacho, who had dropped deep into midfield, sent Sterling scampering clear on goal from the left. The player, whose finishing is the area most in end of improvement, kept his cool and slotted tidily past the advancing goalkeeper from 20 yards to open his account for his new club.
Updated
1 min: Off we pop. A nice gentle opening to proceedings .. until the 48th second, when Sterling gets his first touch and is met by a smattering of boos ... and then trips over the ball! As omens go, that’s a gloomy one for sure! He could also claim that it’s a sign of how treacherous the pitch is, the man who is at risk of becoming the English Samir Nasri is not going to get much sympathy.
The teams amble out on to an Australian pitch that has a a touch of the outback about it: Manuel Pellegrini has complained about the bumpy surface and is expected to make abundant changes throughout the course of the game in a bid to avoid anyone doing themselves a mischief. The arena appears to be about 17% full, which suggests locals are not sufficiently ignorant to expect this joust to produce a classic.
Preamble:
Hello and welcome to our coverage of Manchester City’s latest step in their rebuilding process. They finished an unconvincing second last season and many people doubt their ability to mount a stronger challenge in the next campaign. Which suggests that many people think that Raheem Sterling could have waited for a better destination once he’d decided that Liverpool couldn’t give him what he sought. Today is Sterling’s first match for his new club - who do you think will win more trophies over the next five years, Sterling or Liverpool? Both sides, surely, still need to strengthen defensively this summer if they are to rise in the league next season. But both sides have potentially wonderful forward lines - you sure won’t find many more tasty attacking tridents than Sterling, Silva and Aguero; two of them start today.
Updated
Line-ups
Roma: De Sanctis, Torosidis, Manolas, Romagnoli, Ucan, Florenzi, De Rossi, Pjanic, Gervinho, Iturbe, Totti
Manchester City: Caballero, Sagna, Kompany, Mangala, Clichy, Fernando, Zuculini, Garcia, Silva, Sterling, Iheanacho
Updated
Paul will be here shortly. While you wait, here is a piece on why Raheem Sterling should beware pitfalls of the record signing. Enjoy.
The pressure is on Raheem Sterling. The pressure to perform week in, week out. The pressure to live up to the expectations of the fans. And most of all, the pressure to live up to the fee that Manchester City have paid for his services.
That fee is £49m, making him just £4m more expensive than Carlos Tevez, City’s previous record purchase, and £11m more than they paid for Sergio Agüero, a fellow attacker. Whereas it would be easier to locate the world’s smallest needle in the world’s largest haystack than find someone who would argue that Agüero was not worth what he cost, the same cannot be said of his fellow Argentinian.
Tevez’s record of 73 goals in 148 games meant he was scoring nearly a goal every other game for City – a stat for any sore-eyed manager – but his success was undercut by the tantrums and the transfer requests. He was by no means a failure but, with the exception of Wilfried Bony at Swansea, it is startling to see how many record purchases by other Premier League clubs have not been successful.
Take Norwich City for a start. Ricky van Wolfswinkel cost £8.5m and it would be no exaggeration to say that it might be the worst £8.5m spent by any side in England’s top division. He came to England with a decent reputation having scored 35 goals in his previous two seasons. “He has an excellent goalscoring pedigree and he is very keen to continue his personal progression and play in England,” said Chris Hughton at the time.
