Manchester City beaten by Inter on penalties in friendly without Marmoush and Haaland

Manchester City were beaten by Inter in a penalty shootout after their friendly ended 1-1, with Omar Marmoush and Erling Haaland both left out of the match to be rested.

City took the lead in the 14th minute through Devin Mboma, who finished after Antoine Semenyo supplied the pass across the face of goal.

Inter equalised six minutes later when Benjamin Pavard capitalised on confusion inside Manchester City’s penalty area to make it 1-1.

Neither side could find a winning goal after the interval, sending the match to a shootout to decide the outcome of the friendly.

Manchester City struggled from the start of the penalty contest, missing their first three attempts. Rayan Ait-Nouri, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez were unable to convert their penalties.

Claudio Echeverri scored Manchester City’s only successful spot-kick, but that was not enough to prevent Inter from securing the victory.

Piotr Zielinski, Mattia Mosconi and Matteo Lavelli all scored for Inter. Davide Frattesi was the only Inter player to miss from the spot as the Italian side completed the shootout win.

The result means Manchester City begin August with a defeat in a match where their two main attacking options, Marmoush and Haaland, were unavailable because they were being rested.

City will have another opportunity to prepare for the new campaign when they face Atletico Madrid in their next friendly on Sunday, 9 August.

Inter’s next match will be a friendly against AC Milan on Wednesday, 5 August.

The fixture was decided after a largely even second half in which neither team managed to add to the goals scored during the opening 20 minutes. Mboma’s early strike had given City the advantage, but Pavard’s quick response restored parity before the interval.

With both teams level at the end of normal time, the shootout became the deciding factor. Inter maintained their composure with three successful attempts, while City’s difficulties with their opening penalties put them on the back foot.

The absence of Marmoush and Haaland was a notable feature of Manchester City’s attacking line-up, but the match still produced an early goal for the English side. Semenyo’s delivery created the opening for Mboma, who took advantage in the 14th minute.

Inter responded almost immediately. Pavard benefited from uncertainty in the City defence inside the penalty area and brought the Italian side level in the 20th minute.

No further goals followed, leaving Inter to claim the friendly victory on penalties and Manchester City to turn their attention to next Sunday’s meeting with Atletico Madrid.