City surprised in friendly run-out

English Premier League champions Manchester City made a slow start to their pre-season preparations with a 1-0 friendly loss to Al-Hilal.

Nawaf Al-Abid scored the only goal of the game for Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal during the match at Tivoli Stadium, Innsbruck, on Friday.

City manager Roberto Mancini did select several star players, including Carlos Tevez, captain Vincent Kompany and midfielder Yaya Toure.

Fringe players such as Stefan Savic, Vladimir Weiss and Dedryck Boyata received a run out, as did youngsters Harry Bunn and Jeremy Helen.

City’s next friendly is against Dynamo Dresden on Tuesday.