Inter beat Manchester City to lift Pirelli Cup

The contest featured four yellow cards, a red card, and plenty of aggressive play as Inter Milan dominated on the way to a 3-0 victory in front of 36,569 football fans the at M&T Bank Stadium.

The physicality began from the outset when Inter's Goran Pandev and City's Victor Kompany were each booked in the 19th minute when Pandev took exception to Kompany's tackle from behind. Clutching his leg on the ground one second, Pandev got up, ran over to Kompany the next and pushed the Belgian national. A shoving match ensued with both teams converging to separate the two players.

Two minutes later City was put at a disadvantage for the remainder of the exhibition when Mexican referee Baldomero Toedo sent City midfielder Patrick Vieira off with a red card. The card was granted when Vieira elbowed Inter defender Marco Materazzi in the back of the head jumping for a header.

"We were trying to get players minutes as well in the game," said City assistant manager Brian Kidd, who was filling in for Manager Roberto Mancini after Mancini left the team on Friday for personal reasons. "We had planned to make changes, to get players playing time. So obviously when that happened, it altered things slightly. And that's not making it an excuse."

Then on the 38th minute from a seemingly impossible angle, Inter forward Victor Obinna turned the man advantage into a goal. Obinna received a pass from midfielder Esteban Cambiasso and struck a shot with his left foot from the goalkeeper's right just inside the box that stayed on the ground and snuck past City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

In the 54th minute Inter went on the counterattack following a City corner and Obinna found himself alone to the goalie's right just outside the six-yard box, but a bad first touch allowed the City defense to recover. Instead of shooting, Obinna crossed the ball in front of the City goal, which deflected off City defender Joleon Lescott for an own goal to double the lead.

Eighteen-year-old midfielder Cristiano Biraghi scored a beautiful goal in the top right corner from 30 yards out in the 74th minute to seal the win for Inter.

After Vieira was sent off in the 21st minute, City were unable to generate enough scoring chances. Perhaps City's best scoring chance came in the first minute when striker Emmanuel Adebayor got behind the Inter back line but had his shot blocked.

Inter showed their dominance with 14 shots on goal compared to Manchester City's five..

The two teams had the majority of their first-team players in uniform but there were a few notable exceptions in the aftermath of the World Cup. Those included City's Carlos Tévez, Nigel de Jong and Roque Santa Cruz, and Inter's Wesley Sneijder, Diego Milito, and Lúcio.

With new coach Rafael Benitez leading the team, a mix of youth and veteran players went on the pitch. Coutinho and Castellazzi, Obinna who had the first two goals and another fantastic goal from the young Biraghi. But the young players were backed up by Zanetti, starting his sixteenth season with Inter, and the strength of unchanged champions of Italy and Europe Cambiasso, Materazzi, Stankovic and Eto'o.

Inter's Samuel Eto'o was one of the stars in uniform and received a hearty applause when he entered the contest in the 62nd minute.

In all, 19 players saw action for Inter Milan and City played 18.

The match was City's final in its U.S. tour and Inter's first of three. City lost three of five in the United States and will next take the pitch against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. Inter plays MLS's FC Dallas on Thursday at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Tex.