Jovetic brace lifts Man City over AC Milan in friendly
PITTSBURGH - English Premier League champions Manchester City cruised to a 5-1 triumph over Italy's AC Milan on Sunday in a weather-hit friendly at Heinz Field, home of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers.
Manuel Pellegrini's men stormed into an early 2-0 lead thanks to strikes from Stevan Jovetic in the 11th minute and Scott Sinclair in the 14th, the two making the most of a Milan defense that struggled with Manchester City's pace down the right flank.
City continued to dominate and added a third as Jesus Navas's acrobatic effort from outside the area was deflected past helpless Milan goalkeeper Michael Agazzi in the 23rd minute.
City added a fourth after 26 minutes when Nigerian teenager Kelechi Iheanacho, who has been training with the club for several weeks, picked the ball up on the edge of the box, turned and slotted it home.
Sulley Muntari pulled one back for Milan shortly before halftime, making it 4-1 going into the break which was extended as fans were cleared from the stands because of a heavy thunderstorm that brought lightning and a tornado warning.
The sides eventually emerged for the second half and the English outfit picked up where they had left off -- Montenegro international Jovetic making it 5-1 in the 58th.
Former City striker Mario Balotelli, who sat out Milan's 3-0 loss to Olympiakos in Toronto on Thursday, came on for the second half and had a goal ruled out for offside.
The match was part of the International Champions Cup, a collection of pre-season matches featuring eight European clubs all preparing for the start of their domestic campaigns.
In another ICC match on Sunday, Liverpool took on Olympiakos in Chicago.
Spanish champions Atletico Madrid were also Stateside on Sunday for some pre-season action, taking on Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes in San Francisco.
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