Manchester City took on Inter Milan in the final of the Inagural Dublin Super Cup. Both teams fielded rather solid squads, with Balotelli and Yaya Toure being featured for the Premier League side and Eto'o and Sneijder featured for the Serie A club.
Man City looked to take the early advantage when Balotelli netted one just after the one minute mark. However, it was quickly disallowed due to offsides by Mario. City continued to dominate early in the match. David Silva and Mario Balotelli were all ove the pitch with chance after chance. The Blues appeared to score again around the 17th minute with a Dzeko's goal from 5 yards out. However, that too was taken off due to an offsides call. However, after watching the replay several times, it's safe to say that Dzeko was level with the Inter defense.
After the disallowed goal, Inter seemed to pick up the pace. They were able to get some good pressure, but were unable to get past Joe Hart. After a bit of a lull, Inter brought in a change around the 27th minute with Muntari being brought on for Cristeig. The first half remained a rather close match, with each side getting a few more chances. A scary moment for Inter fan (And Man U fans as well), when Sneijder seemed to pull a hamstring after a slide. He hopped up after a minute and appeared to be okay. Right before the half, Balotelli rocketed one that was knocked just over the net by the Inter keeper. On the ensuing corner, just into added time, Balotelli headed the Kolarov boot into the back of the net. Man City took the first half 1-0.
Not even a minute into the second half, David Silva fed a streaking Dzeko who buried a goal past the keeper. A few minutes later, Dzeko used his speed to get out in front and set up James Milner with a good chance, however, the save was made. The teams continued to trade chances as Inter made another substitution around the 52nd minute. Pandev was taken off in favor Castaignos. After that change, Inter seemed to pick up the pace and have quite a few chances. As play leveled out again, Inter made yet another change, bringin on Pazzini for Alvarez.
After a near miss by Inter, City finally brought on their first sub around the 72nd minute with preseason star Shaun Wright Phillips coming on for Balotelli. Balotelli got a nice round of compliments from his former Inter mates as well as from the City manager and former Inter manager Mancini. Just as City was taking off their star Balotelli, Inter subbed off Sneijder in favor of Davide Santon. After more back and forth leading to the 80th minute, more subs were brought in by both squads. Gareth Barry came in for David Silva and Adam Johnson entered the match for James Milner.
With fresh legs on the pitch, City was knocking on the door once again. Wright-Phillips and Johnson teamed up for a few good chances, but weren't able to score. Just shy of the 83rd minute, Pazzini had a nice ball on target, but Joe Hart was able to get his hands up and stop the shot.
One last round of substitutions were made for Manchester City around the 88th minute with Rekik on for Kolarov and Suarez on for Yaya Toure. With 3 minutes of added time, both teams were pushing for a goal. In the final minute, Shaun Wright-Phillips fought his way into the box and fed a very nice pass to Johnson who made it 3-0.
Overall, I was impressed with how well City handled Inter. I was especially impressed with Balotelli's play, on the heels of his flub against the L.A. Galaxy. I think Mario really needed a match like this to quiet the detractors. Edin Dzeko, in his second year with City, also looked very good. He was very fast and used his great speed several times to get chances near the net. I'm hoping that he can keep it up for the Premiership.
The squad featured in this match will likely be similar to the one that faces off against Manchester United in the Community Shield match. It has been announced that Tevez is still on break and newcomer Sergio Aguero is reportedly suffering from blisters and may be unavailable. The Community Shield kicks off at 9:30 Eastern Time on Sunday, August 7th.
