Los Angeles (US), July 27 (IANS): Real Madrid paid for missing chances in the first half of the game as they lost 1-4 to English Premier League (EPL) club Manchester City at the International Champions Cup here on Thursday.
With almost the same starting lineup that lost on penalty shoot-outs to the other Manchester club, United, the 12-time UEFA Champions League winner wasted many chances in the first half, and so did their rivals, reports Efe.
Zinedine Zidane's side had the chance to take an early lead four minutes into the second half when Dani Carvajal got the ball in front of a wide open goal, but he did not make it.
City's Nicolas Otamendi did not hesitate to fire home a deflected ball from Real Madrid's goalkeeper Keylor Navas in the 52nd minute, seven minutes before Raheem Sterling doubled the score for the Premier League side with a nice touch after a collective effort.
Pep Guardiola's City kept on dominating the second half as they scored a third goal from John Stones in the 66th minute, just one minute after Kevin De Bruyne's free kick, which goalkeeper Kiko Casilla turned to the right post.
Brahim Diaz completed City's goal tally with a rocket he fired from outside the area, with only nine minutes to go.
In one of the rare chances that Real Madrid had in the second half, Oscar Rodriguez scored their only goal in the 88th minute with a nice touch. Guardiola, obviously, was happy with the great win, but made little of the victory as it is a pre-season friendly event.
"It is pre-season so like against Manchester United, when we lost, we made some good things. But you gain confidence playing at this intensity and at this level," Guardiola said.
From the opposite camp, Zidane defended his players and tried to be positive in a press conference after the match. "We didn't have a bad game but it's a bad result. We're still in the preparation stage, it's the second game. There's no need to keep talking about what has happened, we lost and that's that," he said.
