Inter Milan defeated Manchester City 3-1 in a penalty shootout after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in a pre-season friendly at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong on Saturday. The Asahi Super Dry Trophy match was Enzo Maresca’s first in charge of City since he replaced the departed Pep Guardiola, while Inter head coach Cristian Chivu used the fixture to test his squad ahead of the Serie A season.

City took the lead in the 14th minute when Antoine Semenyo sprinted down the wing and crossed for Divin Mubama to finish. Inter responded six minutes later: Federico Dimarco delivered a pass that Benjamin Pavard converted to make it 1-1. The first half ended level after Inter’s Aleksandar Stankovic forced a save from City’s goalkeeper, while City dominated possession after the break. An 18-year-old substitute, Ryan McAidoo, struck the post for City, but neither team could find a winner.

The shootout began badly for City as their first penalty sailed over the bar. Inter’s Piotr Zielinski scored to put his side ahead. City’s next two penalty takers both failed to beat Inter goalkeeper Ivan Provedel, though City’s goalkeeper saved one of Inter’s attempts to keep the home side in contention. Claudio Echeverri, the Argentine midfielder who came on as a substitute, converted City’s third penalty with a Panenka, but Inter’s Mattia Mosconi and Mattheo Lavelli both scored to seal a 3-1 shootout win.

Maresca said before the match that he was introducing “new concepts” and did not believe in “copy and paste”, acknowledging that his team would be judged from the start. Several of City’s World Cup players, including Erling Haaland and Rodri, did not travel to Hong Kong. Inter earlier announced the signing of former City defender John Stones on a two-year free transfer; Chivu described the 32-year-old as a player who will “definitely improve the department”. Both clubs continue their pre-season programmes ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.