The Soccer summer continued Saturday with a club friendly at Yankee Stadium. Manchester City and AC Milan faced each other in front of 46,000 fans in another fixture of the FC Series happening throughout the summer. The support was evenly distributed throughout the stands, so the outcome was secondary, given the occasion. Both teams came out with their best XI and were ready to put on a memorable match for those in attendance.
A game to remember
Manchester City had the upper hand on paper. They began the match with three of the main starters on the field. Haaland, Ederson, and Grealish, all key pieces to Guardiola’s playing style, were complemented by youth eager to stand out. Milan had noticeable heavyweights absent but managed to surprise Manchester City nonetheless. Samuel Chukwueze and Ruben Loftus-Cheek became a major headache for City in the opening minutes. Chukwueze managed to own the right wing easily dribbling past the opposition. Loftus-Cheek was the orchestrator in the attack, pulling the strings for the “Rosoneri’. His distribution for both wingers was key for Milan for most of the match.
Loftus-Cheek had the game’s first chance at goal, but Ederson came through with a good block. Chukwueze had another chance immediately, but his shot missed the target. Unfortunately, that missed chance came back to haunt them shortly after. Winger Oscar Bob took matters into his hands to push Milan back with some impressive dribbles on the wing.
His agility was enough to beat his mark, and he was able to have enough room to play the ball toward Erling Haaland for a tap-in finish. Manchester City took the lead despite Milan’s initial push to go in front. Oscar Bob nearly made an identical play shortly after, dribbling past two defenders to find Haaland again, but this time he was off-target. Keep in mind that this all happened within 30 minutes of gameplay. The match became a back-and-forth between both teams to see who found the back of the net the most.
AC Milan didn’t hold back and found the answer with a combination of Chukwueze and Lorenzo Colombo. The striker was at the right place, at the right time on both occasions. In the 30th minute, he appeared unexpectedly between two city defenders to tie the game. On the 34th minute mark, he was left with enough space to beat Ederson with a volley shot. Milan turned the match around in the space of 4 minutes. It was an impressive comeback knowing that they were missing some significant star power.
The teams introduced their fashionable third kits for the second half. AC Milan now played in white. Manchester City came back out with a burgundy-like color shirt. Both are very stylish, but I stay with AC Milan’s classic black and red combination. But the action had to resume, both teams made changes to their XI to give everyone minutes. Manchester City allowed the youngsters to showcase themselves.
It was certainly the case for Micah Hamilton, it’s not every day that you come off the bench and give an assist to level the game. His speed to beat his mark down the wing allowed him to find James McAtee to head the ball into the net. It took Manchester City 10 minutes from the second half to equalize the game. A true contest between two of the most powerful teams in Europe.
AC Milan would have the final say in the game with a quick combination that started in their half. Calabria, Saelemaekers, and Marco Nasti came together to catch Manchester City off guard with quick transitions. The Rosoneri scored the third and final goal after that combination happened in the 78th minute.
The goal arrived in the dying minutes of the match and left Manchester City without enough time to pull a late comeback. However, we did get to see two USMNT members in the last 10 minutes of the game. Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah both saw minutes in the Bronx. While there was no time for them to display their best versions, the reception they received was one to remember.
The game ended with a 3-2 score and a total of 5 goals. The exhibition match was a success and the fans got to see their favorite team on the other side of the world. Manager Pep Guardiola praised the support of the fans despite having many senior players absent from the preseason tour. The FC series fixture was a success in the Bronx, so hopefully, the opportunity will return next summer with another important club fixture.
The work continues with Leagues Cup, NYCFC and Club Queretaro faced each other in another edition of the tournament between Liga MX and MLS.