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Champions Cup: Silva leads Manchester City over Bayern Munich

By Alex Butler
Kingsley Coman (29) of Bayern Munich drives to the goal with Bernardo Silva (20) of Manchester City defending during the second half of the International Champions Cup match on Saturday at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI
1 of 3 | Kingsley Coman (29) of Bayern Munich drives to the goal with Bernardo Silva (20) of Manchester City defending during the second half of the International Champions Cup match on Saturday at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI

MIAMI GARDENS, July 28 (UPI) -- Portuguese striker Bernardo Silva scored two sensational goals, leading Manchester City to a 3-2 win against Bayern Munich at the International Champions Cup on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

Silva scored his first goal in first half stoppage time, before adding the go-ahead strike in the 70th minute. His second strike was pure magic. Silva dipped into the box after getting a pass from Adrian Bernabe on the play. He dribbled in between two defenders before whipping his left leg with lightning speed and smashing a shot into the near post netting past Bayern keeper Sven Ulreich for the game-winner.

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"I tried to shoot at the first post I saw," Silva told UPI. "There was a little chance to score. I was lucky as well to get that shot so close to the post."

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The Sky Blues overcame a 2-0 deficit to earn the victory.

"The difference was in the boxes," City manager Pep Guardiola said. "In the boxes they were so good. These kind of players, they are talented, but I don't think it was quite different in the first and second half. In the first half I give credit that we were down 2-0, but we were never 'down.'"

Bayern's Meritan Shabani scored the first goal of the match. The attacking midfielder lingered in the box in the 15th minute before being spotted by defender Rafinha. The Brazilian ran down the right side before hitting a cross central, finding Shabani for a header.

City held an early lead in possession, but that didn't matter for the Bundesliga power. Bayern midfielder Arjen Robben netted the second score of the game in the 23rd minute. Captain Franck Ribery held the ball near midfield at the start of that sequence. He took a few dribbles before lofting a long cross into the box to lead Robben. The midfielder tapped the ball down before finessing a shot over City keeper Claudio Bravo.

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Silva raced down the right side of the pitch as the first half whistle neared to get City on the scoreboard. He found his way to the edge of the Bayern box before placing an 18-yard shot with his left foot, beating Ulreich.

The Sky Blues used that momentum through halftime to take control of the match, using its organized attack to wear down the Bayern resistance.

Ureich made an initial save on a screamer from Phil Foden in the 51st minute, but Lukas Nmecha followed the shot and slipped it in off the rebound for the equalize.

"It was exciting, it was my first goal for City," Nmecha said.

Silva scored for a second time 19 minutes later, winning the game for the Sky Blues.

"It was hard losing 2-0," Silva said. "It was very difficult to come back from that, but everyone and all the team worked very hard for it. In the end I think it was a well deserved win. We are very happy because we played against one of the best teams in the world."

The Premier League champions lost their first International Champions Cup match 1-0 to Borussia Dortmund before dropping another tournament matchup last week to Liverpool. The Sky Blues battle Chelsea on Aug. 5 at Wembley Stadium in London.

"We came here with a lot of young players and new players," Guardiola said. "We had just one professional player on the first team. We played agains Liverpool and Bayern Munich, so it's not simple teams."

"That is what I like in my players. Seeing my players fight for their teammates ... play like a humble team. Like a fourth division team."

Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain, but lost to Juventus and City in the 2018 International Champions Cup. The Bundesliga champs battle Eintracht on Aug. 12 in Frankfurt, Germany.

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