Manchester City delighted their fans in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday night as a string of first team stars helped the Premier League champions secure a 3-0 win over Al Ain at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium.
Just days after defeating West Ham United to secure their second league triumph in three years, City boss Manuel Pellegrini elected to start a host of big names, much to the delight of the 22,000-plus fans packed into the hugely impressive arena.
The Chilean boss may have rested the players heading to Brazil for the World Cup but the side still possessed some real attacking talent with Samir Nasri and Stevan Jovetic impressing throughout.
But it was one of City’s youngsters who grabbed the opening goal after 63 minutes as Portuguese forward Marcos Lopes ran onto a wonderful through ball from Nasri to race clear and coolly slot home.
Jovetic would add a second 15 minutes later when latching onto another superb ball from Nasri before turning one way, then another and sliding the ball into the far corner.
A third goal came just minutes before the final whistle when youngster Jordi Hiwula stepped up to convert a penalty and delight a number of City fans in the crowd.
Al Ain had a raft of chances of their own with Soufian Al Aloudi hitting the post in the final minutes, while home favourite Omar Abdulrahman had gone close in the first half after seeing his clipped effort well saved by Costel Pantilimon.
Despite the result for Al Ain it was largely a party atmosphere inside the stadium, with supporters keen to show their support to the home side who still have a chance of winning some silverware when they play Al Ahli in the President's Cup final.
They would make some 23 substitutes in total but it was a memorable occasion for all of the players who stayed long after the final whistle to applaud their illustrious rivals.
