Maresca’s Man City Debut Ends In Penalty Shootout Defeat To Inter Milan

Inter beat Man City on penalties

Enzo Maresca’s debut as Manchester City manager ended in a penalty shootout loss to Inter Milan.

Man City lose to Inter in Hong Kong as Maresca era begins with shootout loss...

Maresca took charge of City for the first time on Saturday in Hong Kong, but his debut ended 1-1 and finished in a shootout defeat to Inter Milan.

Matteo Lavelli scored the winning penalty to seal a 3-1 shootout victory for the Italian champions. It was Maresca’s first match in charge since replacing Pep Guardiola in June.

It was an open first half and City went ahead in the 14th minute. Antoine Semenyo drove to the byline and cut it back for Divin Mubama, who tapped home from close range.

Semenyo kept causing problems and nearly scored a brilliant solo goal minutes later, darting past multiple Inter defenders before Josep Martinez denied his shot.

Inter hit back within minutes. City couldn’t deal with Jamal Iddrissou’s cross and Benjamin Pavard pounced from close to the penalty spot to make it 1-1.

 

Both teams had big chances early in the second half, but the match lost rhythm as a flurry of substitutions broke up the play.

1-1 nei novanta minuti. Vittoria ai rigori a Hong Kong 🇭🇰🖤💙

Il report 👉 https://t.co/n7kLk5t1ZI pic.twitter.com/AdSeojU0fl

— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter) August 1, 2026

City went close late on Vitor Reis rattled the crossbar and Ryan McAidoo struck the post but they couldn’t find a winner.

Maresca stepped in back in June with a massive job ahead following Pep Guardiola, who collected 20 trophies during a dominant 10 years at City.

Teams often struggle to replace serial winners, and Manchester United are the prime example, they dropped from the top of English football after Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.