For Manchester City, the International Champions Cup is over, with penalty kicks again haunting Manuel Pellegrini’s squad. After losing to Liverpool via spot kicks on Wednesday, Manuel Pellegrini’s team met the same fate on Saturday, with Greek champions Olympiacos claiming second in Group B after their shootout win in Minneapolis, Minn.
The result set paved the way for Liverpool, first in the group, to join rival Manchester United in Monday’s final, with both halves of England’s greatest northwest derby using Saturday wins to clinch their place in Miami. backed by an early goal in Charlotte, N.C., the Reds claimed victory over Milan, while a record crowd in Ann Arbor, Mich. saw Manchester United down European champions Real Madrid.
Here more on the three Premier League titans’ days on American soil:
Olympiacos 2-2 Manchester City
Stevan Jovetic’s goal 10 minutes before halftime gave the Citizens a brief lead, but when Dimitrios Diamantakos equalized from the middle of the box in the 37th minute, the sides went into intermission tied, 1-1.
Aleksandr Kolarov restored City’s lead in the 53rd minute after David Silva was brought down in the box, but Diamantakos’s second of the game saw the teams play out the final 25 minutes at 2-2. In the shootout, Micah Richards’ miss in the seventh round allowed Anastasios Papazoglou to lift Olympiacos to second in Group B, his conversion into the lower left corner giving the Greeks the shootout, 5-4.
Manchester United 3-1 Real Madrid
The largest crowd in U.S. soccer history (109,318) saw Ashley Young stake the Red Devils to a 21st minute lead, an advantage Gareth Bale pulled back from the spot after being taken down in the box. Eight minutes before halftime, a cross from Young was misplayed by Iker Casillas, giving the United winger what would turn out to be the game’s winning goal.
In the 80th, Javier “Chicharito” Hernández converted from close range off a Shinji Kagawa cross to give United a 3-1 lead, allowing the Red Devils to claim a spot in Monday’s final.
Milan 0-2 Liverpool
A disappointing tournament for Milan ends with the Rossoneri giving up their ninth and 10th goals of the competition: An earlier opener to Joe Allen, and late consolation for Suso. While Pippo Inzaghi’s side confirmed its place at the bottom of the eight-team tournament, Liverpool moved on to Monday’s final, where a preseason derby will mark the end of each club’s U.S. tour.
