Nigerian teenager Kelechi Iheanacho has scored his second goal for Manchester City in as many matches as the English Premier League champions cruised to a 5-1 triumph over Italy’s AC Milan on Sunday in the US.
Iheanacho, the Most Valuable Player, MVP, at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, scored City’s fourth goal against AC Milan when he picked the ball up on the edge of the box, turned and slotted it home.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men had stormed into an early 2-0 lead thanks to strikes from Stevan Jovetic in the 11th minute and Scott Sinclair in the 14th, the two making the most of a Milan defense that struggled with Manchester City’s pace down the right flank.
City added a third as Jesus Navas’s acrobatic effort from outside the area was deflected past helpless Milan goalkeeper Michael Agazzi in the 23rd minute.
Sulley Muntari pulled one back for Milan shortly before halftime, making it 4-1 going into the break which was extended as fans were cleared from the stands because of a heavy thunderstorm that brought lightning and a tornado warning.
The sides eventually emerged for the second half and the English outfit picked up where they had left off — Montenegro international Jovetic making it 5-1 in the 58th.
Former City striker Mario Balotelli, who sat out Milan’s 3-0 loss to Olympiakos in Toronto on Thursday, came on for the second half and had a goal ruled out for offside.
The match was part of the International Champions Cup, a collection of pre-season matches featuring eight European clubs all preparing for the start of their domestic campaigns.
* Iheanacho celebrating at the world cup
It would be recalled that Iheanacho, who joined Man City after his sterling performances at the U-17 world cup, scored his first goal in a friendly against Kansas City in City’s opening pre-season game.
The teenager shone against Kansas, dictating play for City, testing the opposition goalkeeper with several blistering drives.
He struck the final nail in the coffin of the MLS leaders with a well-taken fourth goal as City ran out 4-1 winners.
Pellegrini was full of praise for the 17-year-old after the game as he described him as “the future’ of the club.
“Kelechi is just 17 years old and he’s a very important player for us in the future.
“He demonstrated today what he can do in the future. It depends on the way he takes this profession, but I think he’s a good talent,” the former Real Madrid Boss said in a post match conference.
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