Erling Haaland’s hat-trick led Manchester City to a 4-2 victory over a mistake-prone Chelsea in their pre-season match in Columbus.
The 24-year-old Norwegian struck twice within the first five minutes, capitalizing on two costly errors by Chelsea.
City took an early lead thanks to a loose pass from Tosin Adarabioyo and a penalty awarded when Levi Colwill fouled Haaland.
The initial penalty was missed but converted on the re-take.
Haaland quickly extended City’s advantage by intercepting a misjudged pass from Moises Caicedo and scoring. In the second half, City further asserted their dominance with a pair of easy goals.
Raheem Sterling’s error allowed Oscar Bobb to score through a near-post shot in the 55th minute, and Haaland completed his hat-trick a minute later after another slip-up from Malo Gusto.
Chelsea did manage to pull two goals back, with Raheem Sterling volleying in a cross at the 59-minute mark and Noni Madueke scoring on the counter-attack in the 88th minute, in front of a crowd of 68,000 at Ohio Stadium.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca remarked that his team performed well despite the “strange” nature of the game, and both managers cited the “dry” pitch as a factor in the possession errors.
Manchester City will now head back to the UK to face Manchester United in the Community Shield next Saturday.
Chelsea will stay in the US for a match against Real Madrid on Tuesday before returning to Stamford Bridge to play Inter Milan next Sunday.