Manchester City suffered a penalty shootout defeat to Inter Milan after a 1-1 draw in their latest pre-season outing, despite Divin Mubama’s early opener.
Mubama put Pep Guardiola’s side ahead inside the opening quarter of an hour, but Benjamin Pavard restored parity before half-time. Neither side could find a winner after the break, with Inter prevailing 3-1 on penalties as Ivan Provedel starred from the spot.
Manchester City made the brighter start and took the lead in the 14th minute. Antoine Semenyo’s low cross from the right found Mubama, who converted from close range after the winger’s earlier work had created the opening.
Inter responded well and came close through Francesco Pio Esposito and Aleksandar Stankovic before drawing level after 20 minutes.
Pavard reacted quickest inside the penalty area to fire a loose ball into the bottom corner.
Back of the net from Pavard 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/PdgvEDjV6J
— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter_en) August 1, 2026
The remainder of the first half was evenly contested. Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Stankovic and Federico Dimarco from distance, while Semenyo forced Josep Martinez into another save at the other end.
Wholesale changes but still evenly matched
Both managers made wholesale changes at the interval, but Manchester City controlled much of the second period.
Savinho, Rico Lewis and Vitor Reis all tested Inter’s defence in quick succession, with Reis striking the crossbar from a corner before Ivan Provedel produced a fine save to deny his follow-up effort.
Class recognises class 🤝 pic.twitter.com/5no2OvgLu4
— Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter) August 1, 2026
City continued to push for a winner as Rico Lewis, Nico Gonzalez and Savinho all went close, while Ryan McAidoo hit the post with 10 minutes remaining after breaking into the area from the right.
Inter still threatened on the counter, with Luka Topalovic seeing an effort blocked, but the Italian side held firm to take the contest to penalties.
The shootout began badly for City as Rayan Ait-Nouri blasted over before Piotr Zielinski converted for Inter. Abdukodir Khusanov then struck a post, although Donnarumma briefly kept City alive by saving Davide Frattesi’s effort.
Provedel proved decisive, however, saving Nico Gonzalez’s penalty before Mattia Mosconi converted.
Claudio Echeverri scored City’s only successful spot-kick, but Matteo Lavelli calmly dispatched the winning penalty to seal a 3-1 shootout win for Inter.
