Manchester City outclassed AC Milan to set up a showdown with Bayern Munich in the final of the pre-season Audi Cup tournament following a 5-3 victory at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
Last year’s English Premier League runners-up dominated the opening half hour against an experimental Milan side, taking the lead after just three minutes through Spanish winger David Silva.
With Stevan Jovetic looking impressive on his City debut, Manuel Pellegrini’s men doubled their lead on 19 minutes thanks to Micah Richards before Aleksandar Kolarov added a third shortly after.
Edin Dzeko then struck twice within the space of four minutes to put City 5-0 ahead but the Italians rallied through two goals from Stephan El Shaarawy and an Andrea Petagna strike to reduce the deficit going into half-time.
The second half brought a flurry of changes, but no more goals.
Hosts Bayern secured their place in Thursday’s final after beating Brazilian side Sao Paulo 2-0 in the second semifinal.
Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic put Pep Guardiola’s team ahead 10 minutes after the interval before German youth international Mitchell Weiser wrapped up the victory in the closing stages after Xherdan Shaqiri’s effort crashed back off the post.
Veteran Sao Paulo goalkeeper and set-piece specialist Rogerio Ceni had a chance to grab a late consolation for the Brazilians but saw his penalty tipped onto the post by Manuel Neuer.