Man City, Aston Villa and West Ham lose as Wolves win
Manchester City suffered a 3-2 defeat by AC Milan as the Premier League champions were beaten in a pre-season friendly in New York.
Erling Haaland put City in front at the Yankee Stadium when he steered in a left-foot shot from an Oscar Bobb pull-back.
Lorenzo Colombo equalised and quickly added a second for the Italian side as they went into half-time in the the lead.
James McAtee headed in for City to level the game at 2-2 before Marco Nasti scored a winner with a first-time shot from the edge of the box to give AC Milan victory.
“We were better than the first game,” said City boss Pep Guardiola, whose side were beaten 4-3 by Celtic in their first pre-season outing.
“It was a step forward – no injuries, minutes in our legs, another test – and now we fly to another game in a few days.”
Buendia makes Villa return
Aston Villa were also beaten on their pre-season tour in the United States as they lost 4-1 to Columbus Crew during a game in which midfielder Emi Buendia made his return from a long-term knee injury.
Buendia, who had been sidelined since sustaining a knee ligament injury last August, came on with Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen, who were making their first Villa appearances after signing for the club in the summer, after 63 minutes with their side already 4-1 down.
“The best news is his comeback,” said Villa boss Unai Emery. “Emiliano Buendia’s comeback after one year.
“We are happy with his return and we have to work now with him trying to get the best of him progressively.
“The first 30 minutes he played, really, is fantastic for us and for the team.”
Cucho Hernandez scored twice for Columbus before Cameron Archer pulled one back.
Hernandez completed his hat-trick and Dylan Chambost put the Major League Soccer side side 4-1 up.
“Of course, the result is not good but, for us, now the result is not the most important,” added Emery.
“Most important is to build a team, get information about the players, and this was the first match for some players, and they played well. Even losing, they played well.”
Lopetegui beaten by former side
New West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui’s side suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of former club Wolves in their pre-season friendly in Jacksonville, Florida.
In a match that was delayed because of stormy weather, Matheus Cunha put Wolves in front before having to go off injured.
Mohammed Kudus equalised for the Hammers just before half-time, but two goals from Rodrigo Gomes after the break gave Wolves the win.
“He [Cunha] felt a slight pain behind his knee,” said Wolves manager Gary O’Neil.
“It’s disappointing. With the game being delayed and the wet pitch, they work so hard and are finely tuned, so it doesn’t take much to throw them.
“Matheus is incredibly important to us, but the early signs don’t look bad. He won’t be risked again until he’s completely fine, so the next few days I can provide an update.”
Lopetgui has replaced David Moyes as West Ham boss, and said the Hammers “have to improve in a lot of things with and without the ball”.
He added: “We have a lot of work to do in front of us.”
Elsewhere, Brighton beat Tokyo Verdy 4-2 at the National Stadium in Japan.
Jan Paul van Hecke put the Seagulls in front and, despite Yudai Kimura equalising, summer signing Yankuba Minteh restored the visiting side’s lead.
Simon Adingra made it 3-1 and, after Naoki Hayashi headed in for Tokyo Verdy, Jeremy Sarmiento rounded off Brighton’s win.
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