Goals from Brandon Barker and Bruno Zuculini secure win in friendly
City have opened their pre-season tour of Australia with a 2-0 victory against Adelaide United, thanks to second half goals from Brandon Barker and Bruno Zuculini.
The game was played behind closed doors, and manager Manuel Pellegrini took the opportunity to assess the fitness of his squad by utilising 23 players in total.
Many EDS players, including the likes of Cameron Humphreys and Manu Garcia, were rewarded with starting places alongside more senior colleagues including Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri. Nasri came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half, as his shot was tipped on to the crossbar in the 11th minute.
Pellegrini rang the changes at half-time, and it was substitute Brandon Barker who opened the scoring with a neat finish into the bottom corner. Bruno Zuculini, who spent last season loan at Valencia and Cordoba, secured the win in the 84th minute, following good work by Gael Clichy.
City's next game is against Melbourne City on Saturday morning.
First half City XI: Caballero, Maffeo, Kompany (C), Humphreys, Horsfield, Nasri, Toure, Garcia, Ntcham, Pozo, Iheanacho
Second half City XI: Wright, Clichy, Plummer, Evans, Glendon, Fernando, Fofana, Zuculini, Navas, Barker, Unal (Celina 73mins).