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Roma logo
Pre-season Friendlies
Jul 21, 2015 at 10.45am UK
 
Manchester City logo

2-2

Pjanic (8'), Ljajic (88')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Sterling (3'), Iheanacho (51')
Man City win 5-4 on penalties

Live Commentary: Roma 2-2 Manchester City (Manchester City win 5-4 on penalties) - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's live coverage of Manchester City's pre-season International Champions Cup match against Roma at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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Manchester City needed penalties to secure a win over Roma after the Italian side twice came from behind in the International Champions Cup.

Raheem Sterling marked his debut for Manuel Pellegrini's side with an early goal, before Miralem Pjanic got the Serie A side back on level terms.

Kelechi Iheanacho restored the lead for Man City early in the second half, but a late free kick from Adem Lajic took the match to penalties.

Read how all the action unfolded below.


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Good morning! Manchester City get their International Champions Cup campaign underway with a match against Roma at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground shortly. Let's start with a look at the team news.

MAN CITY STARTING XI: Caballero, Sagna, Kompany, Mangala, Clichy, Fernando, Zuculini, Garcia, Silva, Sterling, Iheanacho

ROMA STARTING XI: De Sanctis, Florenzi, Torosidis, Manolas, Romagnoli, Pjanic, De Rossi, Ucan, Iturbe, Totti, Gervinho

So, the big news for Man City is that Raheem Sterling makes his first start for the side since his record-breaking move to the side. Joe Hart, Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko are all rested, with Willie Caballero preferred between the posts, while Kelechi Iheanacho is the lone striker in the starting lineup.

Roma have named a strong side for the match, with a front three of Gervinho, Francesco Totti and Juan Manuel Iturbe. Former Chelsea and Arsenal defender Ashley Cole is among a 22-man bench for the Italian side.

Here's a look at some of the Man City squad familiarising themselves with the 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is the 12th largest stadium in the world:


Ahead of this match, Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that he is concerned about the state of the pitch at the MCG, saying at a press conference: "Yes, I am concerned because the pitch is not in the best state. They've already played one game between Roma and Real Madrid. And [today] we are going to play another game so that's why we have changed the venue for open training. I hope the pitch will at least be in normal condition."

Roma certainly look like they'll be well-supported at this match, with fans waiting outside the stadium to catch a glimpse of the players as they arrived:


Roma have already been in action in this competition, beating Real Madrid on penalties after sharing a goalless draw with the La Liga side. Coach Rudi Garcia insists that his side won't be playing for a draw today: "As always, we'll play to win [today]. I said that same thing to the guys before the match with Real Madrid. At the end of the fame I saw a group who even wanted to win on penalties, a culture of victory is important."

It's just a couple of weeks until the start of the new season. Man City will begin their season with a trip to West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League. Serie A isn't back until the end of August, so Roma don't know who they will face in their opening match of the season yet.

Caballero has been warming up as he prepares for the start of the match. The keeper could play just 45 minutes, with Joe Hart and Richard Wright both on the bench for Man City. Despite this being a tournament, it is still a pre-season game, so expect a host of changes at half time:


It hasn't actually been all that long since Roma and Man City faced each other, as they were drawn in the same Champions League group last season. Man City won away while sharing a draw at home.

We're still waiting for the players to make their way out ready for kickoff, but the warmups are over. It's not the biggest crowd at the MCG at the moment, with the ground less than half full with the start of the match imminent.

Man City are still without several of their regular first team members, with Sergio Aguero, Martin Demichelis and Pablo Zabaleta all given an extended break because of their involvement in the Copa America. Wilfried Bony has also had extra time off because of international involvement with Ivory Coast, but has since flown out and could feature later in the competition.

The players are now in the tunnel ready to head out for kickoff. Raheem Sterling is towards the front of the line as he makes his way out in a Manchester City shirt for the first time.

KICKOFF! Raheem Sterling gets the action underway for Man City.

The crowd appear to have decided that Sterling is something of a pantomime villain as his first run with the ball is greeted by cheers before he loses his footing, drawing a huge cheer from the crowd. Not the best start from the newcomer.

GOAL! Roma 0-1 Man City (Raheem Sterling)

Well, Raheem Sterling has made amends for his early slip with a goal inside the opening three minutes for Manchester City. Kelechi Iheanacho sets the goal up, picking out his teammate with a high ball through the middle. Sterling's first touch is good, allowing him to control the ball on the edge of the box before driving it past Morgan de Sanctis into the bottom corner.

Sterling and Iheanacho look like they could prove a dangerous combination as they weave their way through the midfield again. Torosidis gets the ball back for Roma though, and tries to set something up down the other end.

David Silva wins the ball back before Roma can get a shot away, and he twice tries to pick out the run of Sterling. Iheanacho eventually does slide the ball through to the England international for the second time, but he takes a tumble inside the box while looking for his second goal of the match. He looks to the referee, but the Australian official isn't awarding the spot kick.

GOAL! Roma 1-1 Man City (Miralem Pjanic)

What a stunning strike from Miralem Pjanic to level the scores with Roma's first shot of the match. Totti sets the midfielder up, crossing to him around 20 yards out. City don't close him down, inviting him to take on the shot, and he does, curling it perfectly into the top corner, leaving the diving Caballero no chance.

CHANCE! Man City almost regain the lead as Zuculini picks out Silva with a through-ball, but the Spaniard's finish is at a good height for De Sanctis to parry clear.

Gervinho gets involved for the first time, playing the ball in from the left flank while looking to pull it back for Totti, but Iheanacho is back to help out in defence.

CHANCE! De Sanctis has been the busier of the two keepers so far, and he's called upon again as Silva finds a gap to set up Iheanacho, but the keeper is quickly off his line to stop the striker getting the shot away.

Man City are coming under pressure at the back again as Totti lifts the ball over the top towards Torosidis, who hits it on the half volley, only to find Zuculini blocking his finish and turning it behind for a corner.

Clichy and Silva are working hard down the left as they try to set up a second goal for the Premier League side. Sterling helps out, and tries to turn it into the path of Clichy, but De Sanctis gets to it first. Roma quickly try to catch their opponents out with a counter-attack, but it comes to nothing.

Gervinho looks to use his flashy footwork skills to find a gap through the Man City defence as Roma pile forward again. He can't find a way through, but Iturbe goes on the run, and is left on the ground in apparent agony as he clashes knees with Mangala, although he is quickly back on his feet once he realises he hasn't been awarded a free kick.

PENALTY APPEAL! Raheem Sterling is after a penalty for the second time in this match, and this time he's got a case! The winger tries to cut inside from the edge of the box, but has both feet wiped out by a challenge from Alessandro Florenzi, who actually looks rather surprised as the referee waves the appeals away.

Torosidis makes a stunning run down the left before looking to cross the ball in, but there's just one player in the box for him to aim for. Clichy nods the ball away, but Florenzi is there to try his luck from 25 yards out, sending a rocket just high of the crossbar.

The tempo has certainly slowed since a rather frantic opening 10 minutes, and both sides have been defending better after letting in goals early on. Sagna gets forward to cross the ball in from the right, but a well-timed block from Manolas ensures that it does not find its target.

Man City win a free kick just outside the penalty area as Iturbe drags Silva down. The Spaniard goes to take it himself, but his low effort is straight into the wall.

CHANCE! Iheanacho has been excellent in this first half, and he almost marks his performance with a goal as he rises highest to meet a cross in from David Silva, but De Sanctis just stretches high enough to keep it out.

A one-two from Clichy and Iheanacho has Sterling sprinting to get into position, but Florenzi does enough to get the ball clear for Roma. Iturbe tries to race down the other end while Man City still have numbers forward, but there's no-one there to help him out.

Man City leave themselves vulnerable at the back, and almost come unstuck when De Rossi slips the ball through to Totti, but the veteran can't get his shot away. De Rossi wins it back quickly at this time finds Gervinho, but Sagna does enough to stop the striker testing Caballero.

Totti is making a lively finish to this first half as he and Gervinho link up again, leaving the Italian lining up a shot just a couple of yards out, but Kompany does enough to get the ball behind for a corner. The set piece is poorly cleared, but Mangala does just enough to get it out of play with Gervinho looming.

Another Roma corner falls to De Rossi, who is totally unmarked, but the midfielder can't keep his header down.

Man City finally get the ball away from their own half, and Sterling uses his pace to create plenty of space for himself on the edge of the box. Florenzi is back closing him down though, and that results in the England international firing the ball well wide.

HALF TIME: Roma 1-1 Manchester City

So it's all square at half time in the International Champions Cup match between Roma and Manchester City, with Miralem Pjanic cancelling out a third-minute strike from Raheem Sterling. Sterling will feel aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty, but Man City will also be relieved to have reached the break level after some frantic attacking from Roma just before the break.

Here's Sterling celebrating his first goal in a Man City shirt with teammate Bruno Zuculini. Sterling has been impressive in his first appearance for the team, after recovering from a potentially embarrassing slip in the opening minute. While wholesale changes are expected, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Pellegrini giving his new signing a little longer after the break:


In the opening 45 minutes, Man City had 55% of the possession, and three shots on target, while Roma had just one. Miralem Pjanic's strike was just sensational though, changing direction several times before squeezing into the top corner to level the scores for the Italian side.

While a lot of the focus has been on Sterling's Man City debut, Francesco Totti has been having quite an impact for Roma, setting up their goal and creating several other chances for the Serie A runners up. As you can see from this tweet from Roma, Totti made his debut for the Italian side a year before Sterling was born:


The players are making their way back out ready for the second half. We'll bring you all the details of the half-time changes as soon as the lineups are confirmed.

RESTART! Roma get the action back underway.

MAN CITY SECOND HALF XI: Hart, Horsfield, Kompany, Denayer, Kolarov, Toure, Lopes, Nasri, Navas, Barker, Iheanacho

We're still waiting for full confirmation of all the Roma changes, but one player who has come on his Radja Nainggolan, as he has already tried his luck with a sliced finish from the edge of the box, just missing the post.

ROMA SECOND HALF XI: De Sanctis, Castan, Torosidis, Yanga-Mbiwa, Falque, Pjanic, Cole, Nainggolan, Ljajic, Destro, Keita

GOAL! Roma 1-2 Man City (Kelechi Iheanacho)

One of just two Man City players to have continued from the first half has rewarded Pellegrini for leaving him on the pitch as Kelechi Iheanacho completely wrong-foots Ashley Cole, leaving himself with a clinical finish into the bottom left corner.

CHANCE! Man City are already pushing for a third, having let a lead slip once already in this match. Jesus Navas tries to rifle the ball in from the right-hand side of the box, but his powerful finish was always rising.

CHANCE! Morgan de Sanctis pulls off a save to stop Marcos Lopes adding a third for the Premier League side. The Roma keeper might not have known that much about the stop, but it comes back off his body at the near post as the young striker tries to turn in from a Navas cross.

Nainggolan and Yaya Toure scrap for the ball just inside the Man City half, resulting in the Roma man winning a free kick. Pjanic curls the free kick in towards Seydou Keita, but his attempt at a tap in goes just wide of the post.

Roma have been dominating possession for the last few minutes as they try to find a way back into the match, but Man City have numbers back, and are doing enough to stop the Italian side creating many chance.

After a prolonged spell of Roma possession, Man City get the ball back, and make a quick counter-attack, with Navas looking to fire the ball in towards Iheanacho, but the young striker is just offside.

SUBS! Roma make two more changes with Bogdan Lobont replaces Morgan de Sanctis in goal, while Seydou Doumbia is on for the goalscorer Miralem Pjanic.

Roma patiently make their way through the middle again with Yanga-Mbiwa and Cole stringing together a run of quick passes. Nainggolan tries to force an opening with a love drive from 30 yards out, and he wins a corner as it takes a deflection.

CHANCE! Navas has probably been Man City's best attacking player in the second half, and he's involved again as he plays the ball through to Yaya Toure, who can only fire the ball straight at Lobont, who makes his first save since coming off the bench.

Toure immediately gets involved down the other end as Ljajic sprints towards the Man City goal before crossing in for Nainggolan, but the Ivorian gets a leg to it first to turn it away.

SUB! Man City are taking off the player that has given them the lead, with Enes Unal coming on for Kelechi Iheanacho.

Roma force a corner with time running out for them to get back on level terms. Mattia Destro leaps up to meet it, but fails to cause Joe Hart too much trouble.

Nainggolan and Maicon have been working hard in midfield to continue to keep the pressure on Man City, with just over 10 minutes remaining. The Premier League side have numbers back though, and have given Joe Hart a quiet match since he came off the bench at half time.

SUB! The final player that started the match makes his exit as George Evans replaces the captain, who is expected to fly home after this match with his wife due to give birth.

This was Kelechi Iheanachi lining up his goal early in the second half. At the moment, that shot looks like being the match winner:


CHANCE! Roma certainly haven't given up on this yet, with Iago Falque trying to smash the ball in from near the penalty spot, only for Jason Denayer to make a well-timed block.

GOAL! Roma 2-2 Man City (Adem Ljajic)

Roma win a free kick right on the edge of the box as Toure goes in late on Seydou Doumbia. Adem Ljajic lines it up, and squeezes it through a gap in the wall to get Roma back on level terms with just moments to spare. Should the scores finish level, there will be a penalty shootout!

CHANCE! Roma don't want penalties, they think they can win this in normal time as Maicon bursts down the left before playing the through-ball for Doumbia, but Hart gets to it first.

CHANCE! Samir Nasri has been pretty much anonymous since coming off the bench at half time, but he almost spares Man City the penalty shootout with a late strike from 20 yards out, but Lobont just manages to hold on to it. Meanwhile, there are two minutes of stoppage time.

CHANCE! Man City quickly get themselves back into a dangerous position with a rapid move, resulting in Navas and Toure both getting shots away. The first is saved by the Roma keeper before Toure fires wide.

FULL TIME: Roma 2-2 Manchester City

So, at full time it's all square, so the match will be decided on a penalty shootout. Winning a match on penalties gives the victor two points in the International Champions Cup, which is what Roma got for getting the better of Real Madrid at the weekend.

There's a crowd of just over 40,000 in the MCG, and no-one is moving as they wait for the spot kicks. Roma probably start as favourites, with the likes of Nainggolan, Falque and Ljajic available to take a penalty. Man City will be glag to have their first-choice keeper on though.

Roma 0-1 Man City. Yaya Toure gets Man City off to a good start.

Roma 1-1 Man City. Nainggolan sends Joe Hart the wrong way

MISS! Roma 1-1 Man City. Kolarov goes for power over accuracy and blasts it well high of the crossbar.

Roma 2-1 Man City. Ljajic cheekily dinks the ball down the middle after Hart had committed to a dive to his left.

Roma 2-2 Man City. Navas keeps City in contention, just beating Lobont.

Roma 3-2 Man City. Destro makes no mistake, sending Hart the wrong way to find the bottom right corner.

Roma 3-3 Man City. A powerful, accurate spot kick from Marcos Lopez finds the back of the net for City.

Roma 4-3 Man City. Hart gets a hand to it, but Falque get just enough power behind it to find the corner.

Roma 4-4 Man City. Rather unusually, Joe Hart takes Man City's fifth, and he smashes it into the top left corner. Brilliant spot kick from the Man City keeper.

MISS! Roma 4-4 Man City. It's sudden death as Joe Hart just gets his fingers to Doumbia's penalty.

Roma 4-5 Man City. Horsfield puts Man City back in front.

MISS! Roma 4-5 Man City. Hart tells Keita that he knows where the penalty is going, and it looks like he was telling the truth, as he comfortably saves his penalty.

MAN CITY WIN 5-4 ON PENALTIES!

So, Joe Hart rescues Man City in the penalty shootout, scoring to keep them in the match before pulling off two saves. Roma stay top of the group, earning a point for their shootout loss, while Man City pick up two points.

So, that's all from this match, but join us again on Friday morning when Man City will be in action again, taking on Spanish giants Real Madrid. Until then, thanks for joining me this afternoon, goodbye.

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Manchester City's French midfielder Samir Nasri celebrates after scoring during the UEFA Champions League football match AS Roma vs Manchester City on December 10, 2014
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