Manchester City teamed up with the Yankees this week to buy MLS expansion team New York City FC. Saturday night, they put on a show for their new partners in a wire-to-wire 5-3 friendly win over Chelsea, showing not only their own prowess but soccer potential in this city — and maybe in this Stadium.
The game drew 39,462 fans, with thousands of mostly Chelsea fans showing up early to watch the Champions League final aired live on the Stadium Jumbotron before the match, and seeing Manchester City run rampant during it. After spending the past week building its brand in New York, now Manchester City is turning its billions toward building New York City FC and a stadium for its satellite club.
“This week was all about that the big announcement linking Manchester City with New York City, so the lads have worked hard on promoting. I think it should be exciting,’’ said Gareth Barry, who put Manchester City ahead in the third minute. “Obviously it’s important for us. We just created a new team here now, and we want to build a fan base over here. That’s what we came to do, and hopefully we did.’’
In a game that had an NBA All-Star game vibe — or a Rucker Park pickup game — Samir Nasri scored twice. Though Ramires had a second-half brace for Chelsea, the game was never in doubt. Nasri’s 29th minute goal sent City into the locker room up 2-0.
Even after Ramirez halved the lead just 35 seconds after the break, James Milner’s acute-angle tally pushed it back to 3-1. Ramirez’s second goal pulled Chelsea within one again, but Nasri made it 4-2 in the 74th minute. Chelsea’s Juan Mata put an unstoppable free kick off the bar in the 82nd minute, but Edin Dzeko’s long-range shot by Petr Cech iced it 1:58 later.
“It’s great. I think we publicized it really well. … It can only be positive,’’ Manchester City goal keeper Joe Hart said. “It’s really exciting. All of us boys like coming to the U.S. Obviously MLS is growing and growing and growing. Manchester City is the same thing: We’re growing as well, so it’s good to do it together.’’
Manchester City’s light blue was outnumbered in the stands by Chelsea dark blue, and when they came out for introductions wearing New York City FC shirts, they were roundly booed. Whether they were fans of Chelsea or the Red Bulls — who will be New York City FC’s rival when they join MLS in 2015 — wasn’t clear, but the boos clearly were audible.
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Yankees paid $100 million for New York City FC, and now must find a permanent home for their club. In the interim, they may play in the Stadium.
“[The field] is amazing. [They’ve] done wonders. I’ve come out before two years ago, played pitches that are stitched together. They’ve done a great job,’’ Hart said. “[But] I think ideally you want your own stadium, your own home. It’s good to keep this place a natural baseball stadium. First and foremost, that’s what it is. They’re looking to build a stadium and we can move on from there.’’
* Last night was Rafa Benitez’s final game as Chelsea coach. He is expected to be replaced by Jose Mourinho.