New Delhi: AC Milan and Manchester City faced off in a pre season friendly match, where the Rossoneri clinched a 3-2 win in a thrilling contest. It was an entertaining game where the academy products of both the sides took the charge to produce a brilliant contest. New faces were able to make an impact while the familiar ones also made their presence felt resulting in a fatastic contest between two European giants. There were certain key points in the game that could prove vital for either of the two sides as they head towards the start of their respective league campaigns.
Academy products doing wonders for both the sides
There weren’t many familiar faces on the pitch for Manchester City, while AC Milan did have 6-7 main starters including the likes of the skipper Calabria, Tomori, Bennacer, Loftus-Cheek and a few more experienced players who have played at the highest level. However, it was the academy products who shone for the Rossoneri as the 22-year-old Lorenzo Colombo scored twice and It was the young Marco Nasti who scored the decisive goal for Milan. Colombo has certainly introduced himself as an attacker who is hungry for goals.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 27: Marco Nasti (L) of AC Milan and Lorenzo Colombo (R) celebrates the win at end of the Pre-Season Friendly match between Manchester City and AC Milan at Yankee Stadium on July 27, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images)
The 22-year-old Rossoneri product came back this summer after his loan spell at Monza last season. He started 16 Serie A games and scored four times for them. Meanwhile, Marco Nasti, a player who was a part of the under 19 AC Milan squad, made an impact from the bench as he produced a neat finish from the edge of the box to score the winning goal for Milan.
City have produced some of the best academy products in past few years and Oscar Bobb, James McAtee and Micah Hamilton are certainly proving themselves as few of the most promising young talents to come out of Manchester City academy. Oscar Bobb was without a doubt the best player on the pitch for City. With a mix of blistering pace, fantastic footwork and the ability to beat the defenders, the English winger has all the ingredients to be a top class winger.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 27: James McAtee #87 and Nico O’Reilly #75 of Manchester City celebrate a goal during a game between Manchester City and AC Milan at Yankee Stadium on July 27, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
The 21-year-old assisted the first goal for City, as he found Erling Haaland free inside the Milan box, who fired in his shot to score the first goal of the game. On the other hand, James McAtee who scored the second goal for City is an offensive midfielder who came back from a loan spell at Sheffield United last season. Micah Hamilton has also shown some promising signs as he managed to get an assist coming from the bench.
Milan wingers looking sharp
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 27: Alexis Saelemaekers of AC Milan drives the ball during a Pre-Season Friendly match between Manchester City and AC Milan at Yankee Stadium on July 27, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
Milan looked extremely sharp while going forward, thanks to their progressing wingers Alexis Saelemaekers and Samuel Chukwueze who looked lively throughout the match. The Belgian winger Saelemaekers has had inconsistent few seasons with AC Milan. However, his recent loan season turned out to be a decent one with Bologna as he was featured in 30 league games where he had six goal contributions. He was heavily involved in each of AC Milan’s attacking moves as he the winger looked real good making those incisive runs, trying to find his team mates. He managed to assist the winning goal that was scored by Nasti and overall he looked sharp while moving forward.
On the right flank for Milan was the the Nigerian, Samuel Chukwueze, who looked like a major threat for City defenders. Chukwueze looked confident with the ball at his feet, and produced some dangerous crosses from the right flank. He combined well with Colombo up front as assisted both the goals that the Italian forward had scored. The 25-year-old had a rather underwhelming 2023-24 season with Milan where he only managed to score once throughout the Serie A campaign, after a brilliant 2022-23 Laliga campaign with Villareal. However, this performance against City would surely give him the confidence to perform better in the next campaign.
What to expect after this clash
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 27: Pep Guardiola (L) Head coach Manchester City and Paulo Fonseca Head coach of AC Milan looks on during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Manchester City and AC Milan at Yankee Stadium on July 27, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images)
Despite winning the game 3-2, many would agree with the fact that Milan really need to do better than what they showcased against a City team where there was lack of experience on the pitch. Milan had the the more experienced side on the pitch with certain players who might as well be considered for the starting eleven as the campaign begins. They will be facing Real Madrid next, which would be an exciting clash between two of the most successful clubs in Europe.
On the other hand, Manchester City have shown how good their academy has been over the past few years. They have produced some promising talents and the game against Milan was the perfect example of how good the City products can perform on the pitch. This was their second consecutive loss in the cub friendlies after their thrilling clash with Celtic, but their academy products have shown great character and the future certainly looks bright for this City side.
AC Milan and Manchester City clashed in a pre season friendly, where Milan were able to edge past City to get things running, pre season. Let’s take a look at the key talking points from the game. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
