Enzo Maresca's first match as Manchester City head coach ended in a penalty shootout loss to Inter Milan, after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in Hong Kong.

The friendly, held at Kai Tak Stadium on Saturday 1 August as part of City's Asia Tour 2026, saw Benjamin Pavard score for Inter. City levelled in normal time, but with the friendly trophy pre-arranged to be decided by penalties if the scores were level after 90 minutes, Inter held their nerve from the spot to claim the win. (BBC Sport; Yahoo Sports; Inter Milan)

A penalty shootout, for anyone new to the format, is a best-of-five series of one-on-one kicks from twelve yards, used to separate two teams who finish level. In a friendly, it carries no league-table weight, but for a manager taking charge of a new club for the first time, it is still the moment you want to start building a habit of winning.

Maresca was appointed to lead City into a new era, and this match in Hong Kong offered a first look at what that might resemble. Inter's official site confirmed the 1-1 scoreline before the shootout settled it. (Inter Milan)

On the Inter bench, Cristian Chivu was the man in the dugout. The former Inter and Romania defender, now coaching the side he once played for, oversaw a disciplined performance against Premier League opposition. (Inter Milan)

The match itself was the centrepiece of City's Asia Tour 2026, a preseason trip designed to build fitness and connect with the club's growing fanbase across the continent. The fixture had been in the diary since at least April, with Inter confirming the 1 August date and a 19:30 local time kick-off. (Manchester City; Inter Milan)

For Maresca, the result is a footnote rather than a headline. Preseason results are about minutes on the pitch and patterns on the training ground, not the final score. But every new manager wants a win first time out, and the post-match handshake will have carried just a little less warmth than he might have liked.

For the fans who filled Kai Tak Stadium, this was a rare chance to see European heavyweights up close — a summer night in Hong Kong that delivered a competitive game, a few goals, and a shootout to settle it. The result went Inter's way. The season, for both clubs, is still weeks away.