First loss for Mariska and Alonso with City and Chelsea

Sydney (AFP) – Italian Enzo Maresca began his tenure as manager of English club Manchester City with a penalty-shootout defeat to Italian side Inter Milan, 3-1, after the match ended 1-1 in regular time during a friendly played yesterday in Hong Kong.

In Sydney, Australian striker Richarlison led Tottenham to a 2-1 victory over their London rivals Chelsea, scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute of the friendly match played yesterday.

Both teams fielded strong lineups. Tottenham opened the scoring in the 19th minute through their new Italian signing Sandro Tonali, before Brazil’s Estevao equalized for Chelsea just two minutes later.

Tottenham defender Kevin Danso received a straight red card just three minutes after coming on as a substitute at the start of the second half. Despite this, the Blues failed to capitalize on their numerical advantage in front of 80,363 spectators at Stadium Australia, before Richarlison snatched the winning goal in the final moments.

This loss marks the first defeat for Spanish coach Xabi Alonso at the helm of Chelsea, following an exciting 6-4 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers last week, ahead of their upcoming match against Italian club Juventus in Hong Kong next Wednesday.