In the first warm-up match of their Asian tour, Triple Crown champions Manchester City won a thrilling 5-3 reverse fixture against Yokohama Marinos on Sunday night (23). The star of the show, Einin Chalant, was once again in the spotlight in this thrilling match, scoring twice as a substitute to win the Player of the Match award and a 1 million yen bonus (HK$55,000), a small fortune for the Norwegian goalscorer, but a good start to the new season.
In City's first warm-up match since the start of training, the players did not seem to have fully adjusted to their form, and surprisingly fell behind 2-0 at the 37-minute mark of the first half. However, as the triple winners of the UEFA Europa League, Premier League and EFL Cup last season, the Yokohama Mariners' defense looked out of sorts once the Blue Moon got going. Stones and Zulian Ivaris scored goals to help their team equalize the score at 2-2.
Shortly into the second half, City manager Diego Gaudiona made 10 changes, including last season's Premier League and UEFA double scorer Ennin Chalainte. The Norwegian international quickly found his form and scored to help his side back into the game, with midfielder Lodi Kasjandi also contributing a goal.
Although the Yokohama Mariners pushed the score to 3-4 thanks to a goal by Kenta Inoue, Ainin Charant stepped up once again in the extra time of the match to seal the win with a hammer blow to make it 5-3. He was honored as the best player and deservedly so.
