Man City 3-5

Observer:
Manchester City beat Chelsea and plant a flag at New York's Yankee Stadium

Manchester City 5-3 Chelsea
City: Barry 3, Nasri 29, 74, Milner 55, Dzeko 84

Chelsea: Ramires 46, 69, Mata 82

Graham Parker at Yankee Stadium

The day's talk of a symbolic shift in football power had a very particular flavour in New York on Saturday evening, as Chelsea and Manchester City played the second of two exhibition matches on a brief post-season US tour, at a Yankee Stadium that may soon be home to regular Major League Soccer games.

For sure, the day's main conversation, here as elsewhere, may have been on the all-German ascendancy of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, and the opening of a new front in Europe, but locally (and for New York, the local is the global), the exhibition game had been given added piquancy by the news this week that City had teamed up with the Yankees to form New York City FC. And with no home stadium confirmed for the long-anticipated second New York MLS team (and the path towards one strewn with New York political obstacles), the sight of the Yankees pitching mound bisected by a touchline may be less of a curio and more of a blueprint for what Major League Soccer will initially look like when NYCFC starts play in 2015. Certainly the day brought the clearest signs yet that that is the current plan with Yankees ownership, in the shape of Hal Steinbrenner speaking positively about the idea.

For Saturday evening though, once the Champions League final had been negotiated (Yankees Stadium opened early to show the game on the big scoreboard), two of the competition's talented also-rans played out a dutifully goal-packed, if only intermittently thrilling encounter on a continent both have strong, if differently articulated, ambitions in.

The opening exchanges off the field went Chelsea's way, as City were significantly out-cheered by a Chelsea fan contingent who have been assiduously courted by the London club in recent years - from extensive pre-season tours to playing in MLS All Star games, Chelsea have taken the traditional route of touring their European hits. City on the other hand, have been a more recently visible presence in the US, though this week's news has catapulted them to the forefront of at least New York City's soccer consciousness.

When the game got under way, City wasted no time in their battle for local hearts and minds by taking an early lead — albeit gifted by Chelsea. Hilario's poor kick clear was followed by an even poorer intercepted backpass by Oscar, and despite the keeper's first scrambled save from Aguero, Gareth Barry had a simple tap-in to open the scoring. Chelsea had their chance in the opening period — even having the ball in the net in a bizarre sequence where a ball was thrown onto the field as a corner was being taken, and Hart being forced to palm the retaken corner onto the crossbar. But as the sides went in at half time they were 2-0 down — Nasri reaching a through ball first to deftly chip Hilario, just on the half hour mark.

The first game between the two had been a rather wild, demob-happy affair in front of a sellout crowd in St Louis, that had ended in City winning 4-3 after being 0-3 down. For the first half at least, this game seemed understandably slower, as two teams waiting for new eras to begin played out the last minutes of their respective old ones.

A raft of substitutions at half time allowed Chelsea back into the game as Ramires skipped round Richard Wright to pull one back in the 46th minute, but Chelsea didn't have the appetite to press further at that point and City extended their lead through a low shot across Cech from another one of their subs, Milner. That briefly looked to have killed the game as a contest, but as the game drifted into the last quarter it came to life again.

First, Torres got the better of Lescott on the right of the box and his cross from the byline was touched home at point blank range by Ramires in the 69th minute. Yet again City quickly restored the gap. Nasri bursting through some indifferent marking on the left of the box to lift the ball over Cech in the 74th minute, before Mata kept the pattern going by curling a free kick from the edge of the box into the top right corner in the 82nd minute. Again though, the one goal margin lasted only a couple of minutes as Dzeko turned, cut inside and unleashed a fierce shot from distance into the bottom right corner of Cech's goal.

In truth it was more frayed than frenetic at this point, with two tired teams apparently playing on muscle memory, and gaps opening up across the pitch — though the likes of the City substitute Milner were industrious to the end, as the game finished 5-3 to City.

Chelsea and Benitez quietly took their leave (the latter refused to speak to press after either of the games) to return home and wait, presumably, for Mourinho. For City, of course, the victory was less important than the raised stakes of their presence in New York this week. As the game ended a banner proclaiming the names "Manchester" and "New York" followed by the City F.C. logo was paraded around the edge of the field. It reminded those present that London may have hosted the meaningful football action of the day, but in New York, even as the grounds staff set to work hosing the unfamiliar lines off the Yankee Stadium baseball diamond, City had left a mark.

Manchester City: Hart; Kompany (C), Zabaleta, Kolarov, Boyata; Nasri, Barry, Silvaa, Toure; Aguero, Tevez
Chelsea: Hilario; Luiz, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Ake; Ramires, Oscar, Obi Mikel, Loftus-Cheek; Ba, Torres (C)

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Mail:

Man City 5 Chelsea 3: Nasri and Co do the double over Blues in another US thriller
By Ian Ladyman

Playing in the world’s most famous ball park, Manchester City and Chelsea ended their brief visit to America by providing their audience with a baseball score.
Having scored seven times between them in St Louis on Thursday – City winning that game 4-3 – this time the two English teams came up with one more. City it was who won again but those who braved a rather chilly night here in the Bronx will have cared more for the entertainment.
If football – or soccer – is ever to take a real hold in America then this is the type of game that will help. They don’t like goalless draws over here so it was little surprise that another high-scoring game was greeted so rapturously.

Once again City deserved their victory. Two up at half-time after goals from Gareth Barry and Samir Nasri, they scored three more after the break through Nasri again, James Milner and Eden Dzeko.
Chelsea, though, got within one goal on three occasions as two efforts from Ramires and a superb free-kick from Juan Mata brought them back in to the game.

At times the game got ridiculously stretched and by the end both teams looked as though they would score every time they entered the opposition half. Over here, though, that is just the way they like it. More than 80,000 people have seen the two games and it is hard to imagine that this experimental post-season visit will not be repeated. 

With City fielding a more competitive side than Chelsea, it was not surprising that they started the stronger. They had been the dominant side early on in St Louis on Thursday but failed to take their chances and ended up two goals down at half-time.

Here in New York, though, they scored within three minutes thanks in part to a shocking error from Chelsea midfielder Oscar. The Brazilian is a fine player but the pass he tried to play across his own penalty area here went straight to City forward Sergio Aguero and when the South American’s shot was repelled by Chelsea goalkeeper Henrique Hilario, Barry was on hand to side foot the ball in to the empty goal.

On a cold night, this was just the start the crowd of 39,462 needed. There is a genuine enthusiasm for football in this part of New York and this stadium could well be New York City’s temporary home when the club formed by City and the Yankees begin life in the MLS two years from now.
Barry’s goal was greeted enthusiastically – despite the fact there was once again more Chelsea supporters than City fans in the crowd – and it set the tone for the first half an hour.

City were superior in every way early on and almost scored again in the seventh minute when Pablo Zabaleta moved on to a low cross and fired a shot against Hilario’s legs when he really should have scored.

The Chelsea goalkeeper was on his game again soon after as he touched over a long range shot from Carlos Tevez but couldn’t do anything in the 29th minute when David Silva slid Nasri in and the French international chipped a delightful effort over the advancing goalkeeper and in to the far corner.

Two down now, Chelsea had to find their feet quickly and they did. City goalkeeper Joe Hart had already saved well with his leg from Demba Ba and was called upon again a minute after Nasri’s goal to parry a Fernando Torres drive and then touched a deep corner on to his own crossbar as Chelsea finally began to find some momentum.

City made seven substitutions during the break while Chelsea only changed their goalkeeper and within a minute of the restart the London club had a goal back.
David Luiz drilled a superb long pass over City’s back four and Ramires showed great skill to control the ball on the volley and then some terrific composure to ease it past the advancing Richard Wright and slide it in to the empty goal.

This was just what the game needed and one wondered if Chelsea were about to mount a comeback similar to the one that City put together in St Louis on Thursday. Had Wright not saved from Ramires in the 52 minute then maybe it could have happened but it was City who scored next, Milner playing a lovely one-two with Eden Dzeko before driving a low shot across Cech and in to the far corner.
Once again these two teams had provided some great entertainment for another good crowd. Certainly the two games in America have been a step up from the standard pre-season games that usually see players struggling for fitness.

City could have wrapped this one up only for Cech to save from Milner and back came Chelsea to close the gap again, Ramires converting his second goal of the night from a Torres cross with 22 minutes left. The Brazilian looked well offside when he finished the move and City may have felt a little aggrieved had they not re-established their two-goal cushion soon after.

Once again it was Nasri who scored and this goal was perhaps even better than his first as he shimmied his way through the Chelsea defence before lifting the ball over Cech.

With nine minutes left, though, Chelsea came again. This time it was substitute Mata who brought the crowd to their feet as his floated free-kick found the net from the underside of the bar only for his own goalkeeper Cech to let him down a little by allowing Dzeko’s low drive to creep past him at the near post with six minutes to go.

Man City (4-2-3-1): Hart (Wright 45,mins); Zabaleta (Maicon 45mins), Kompany (Lescott 45mins), Boyata (Garcia 55mins), Kolarov; Y Toure (Rodwell 45mins), Barry; Nasri, Tevez (Razak 45mins), Silva (Milner 45mins); Aguero (Dzeko 45mins).
Goals: Barry 3, Nasri 29, 73, Milner 54, Dzeko 84.

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): Hilario (Cech 45mins); Azpilicueta, Christensen, Luiz (Mata 61mins), Ake; Mikel; Loftus-Cheek (Ferreira 42mins), Ramires, Oscar (Benayoun 65mins); Ba, Torres.
Goals: Ramires 48, 68, Mata 82.
Att: 39,462.

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Mirror:
 
Manchester City 5-3 Chelsea: Premier League pair inflict another uneventful friendly on US fans
         
It's two games, two cities, three days and 15 goals after action-packed affair at New York's Yankee Stadium

From David McDonnell in New York

It wasn't quite Six in the City.
But Manchester City signed off from their week-long post-season tour of the USA with a second win over Chelsea in three days.
Fresh from their 4-3 win over Chelsea in St Louis on Thursday, in which they came from 3-0 down, the deposed Premier League champions emerged victorious in another high-scoring encounter.
City took the lead in New York's famous Yankee Stadium in just the third minute when Oscar gave the ball away and Sergio Aguero's shot was parried by keeper Hilario, presenting Gareth Barry with a simple tap-in.
Samir Nasri made it 2-0 in the 29 minute, clipping a delicate finish over Hilario after being put through on goal by David Silva.
City keeper Joe Hart was also kept busy during the first half, saving well from Fernando Torres, before tipping an Oscar corner onto his own bar.
Chelsea pulled a goal back less than a minute after the restart, David Luiz playing a Beckham-esque long diagonal pass to Ramires, who took the ball past substitute keeper Richard Wright to slot into the empty net.
James Milner, another of seven City subs at half-time, made it 3-1 after 54 minutes, exchanging passes with Edin Dzeko then burying a low shot beyond Hilario.
Ramires grabbed a second goal in the 68th minute, steering the ball in from close-range from a Fernando Torres cross.
Nasri claimed his second goal of the game in the 74th minute after a one-two with Dzeko, followed by another deft finish, this time over sub Petr Cech.
Juan Mata clipped an elegantly-taken free-kick in off the underside of the bar in the 81st minute, the goal glut concluding three minutes later when Dzeko beat Cech from long-range.

Manchester City (4-2-3-1) Hart (Wright, 46); Zabaleta (Maicon, 46), Kompany (Lescott, 46), Boyata (Garcia, 55), Kolarov; Y Toure (Rodwell, 46) , Barry; Nasri, Tevez (Milner, 46), Silva (Razak, 46) Aguero (Dzeko, 46)

Chelsea (4-1-3-2) Hilario (Cech, 46); Azpilicueta, Christensen, Luiz (Mata, 61), Ake; Mikel; Loftus-Cheek (Ferreira 42), Ramires, Oscar (Benayoun, 66); Ba, Torres.

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Sun:

Manchester City 5 Chelsea 3

From MARTIN BLACKBURN in New York

MANCHESTER CITY pitched it just right again as their bid to win over the Big Apple continued at the home of the Yankees.
In a week when they announced the formation of MLS club New York City FC, the Sky Blues could not quite make it ‘Six in the City’ against Chelsea.
But they wowed a crowd of almost 40,000 by rattling in five goals with Samir Nasri scoring the pick of them with a classy double.
A Chelsea team without their England stars could not get past first base each time they threatened a comeback and Rafa Benitez’s eventful spell in charge ended with a defeat.
Football fans in the States probably thought Thursday’s seven-goal thriller in St Louis could not be topped but this was wide open right from the first whistle.
Oscar was day-dreaming as he sent a back pass straight to the feet of Sergio Aguero — who hours earlier had signed a one-year extension to his City contract.
The Argentine’s shot was saved by stand-in keeper Hilario but only to the feet of Gareth Barry who tapped in the rebound to give City the lead.
Fernando Torres was denied by a last-ditch tackle from Dedryck Boyata, then strike partner Demba Ba was clean through but planted his shot into the side-netting.
At the other end, Hilario brilliantly tipped over a shot from Carlos Tevez.
City did double their lead just before the half-hour mark as David Silva’s pass put Nasri through on goal and the French international cheekily lifted the ball over Hilario.
It was not looking like it was Fernando Torres’ night when he nodded in a corner only for it to be disallowed because someone had thrown another ball onto the pitch.
Joe Hart then acrobatically turned a free-kick by Oscar onto the bar — although he could not get anything on Nathan Ake’s thunderbolt which cracked against the woodwork right on half-time.
City made half a dozen changes at the break and within a minute of the restart they let Chelsea back in it.
Ramires nipped in around the back, went past Richard Wright and rolled his shot in.
The Brazilian then saw an effort cleared off the line by Milner — who then became a hero at both ends when he restored City’s two-goal cushion before the hour mark.
He played a one-two with another sub Edin Dzeko before smashing his shot across Petr Cech and into the far corner.
Still the goals kept coming and Torres turned Joleon Lescott down the right before crossing for Ramires to bundle the ball into an empty-net.
But City again restored their two-goal cushion 16 minutes from time as Nasri cut in from the left and played a neat one-two with Dzeko.
He had plenty still to do but produced another deft finish over Cech to score his second of the evening.
The crowd were on their feet again as Juan Mata curled a delicious left-footed free-kick in off the bar from 20 yards.
But their comeback was halted as Nasri won a challenge to allow Dzeko to beat Cech too easily with a low shot from the edge of the box.
It was almost six for Brian Kidd’s men as Milner’s low cross was back-heeled by Dzeko through Cech’s legs but the veteran keeper just managed to stop it crossing the line.

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