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Balotelli helps City past former club Inter

Edin Dzeko scores his side's second goal © PA Photos

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Manchester City lifted the Dublin Super Cup with a clinical 3-0 win over Inter Milan.

Mario Balotelli, so often the villain since he swapped the Nerazzurri for City, was the star of the show, opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time after a fine first-half performance.

Edin Dzeko netted a second immediately after the restart and Adam Johnson wrapped things up in injury time, as new signing Sergio Aguero watched on from the sidelines.

The impressive performance allowed City to prepare for next weekend's Community Shield clash with Manchester United in style, and they were rarely in trouble after taking a grip on the game from the off.

David Silva thought he had given them a second-minute lead when he slotted home under Julio Cesar, but the officials deemed that Balotelli's run across the goalkeeper came from an offside position.

Balotelli then headed over, before he and Yaya Toure were denied by Cesar.

City continued to attack and Dzeko converted an Aleksandar Kolarov cross, only to turn and see the flag raised once more - this time incorrectly.

Balotelli would not be denied before the break, though, powering a header into the top corner after Cesar had saved from him at his near post.

Dzeko made it two seconds after the restart, finishing clinically after Silva's smart reverse pass, before Cesar saved again from the same player.

Inter threatened briefly when Joe Hart clawed Wesley Sneijder's deflected free-kick over the crossbar, before City wrapped things up, with Shaun Wright-Phillips forcing his way into the box before squaring for the waiting Johnson.

Manager Roberto Mancini praised Balotelli afterwards, and also confirmed Aguero would start the United game on the bench.

"Mario should play like today, always,'' he told Sky Sports. "Because he has class, he has everything. If his concentration is in his head, he can play like this. This week for Sergio will be recovery. He did the Copa America and finished only two weeks ago. He will be ready to come on the bench next week.''

In the day's early game, Celtic hammered an Airtricity League XI 5-0. Irish strikers Daryl Murphy and Anthony Stokes shared three goals, with Stokes getting a brace and Murphy a penalty, while Gary Hooper also scored twice.

Earlier Celtic concluded their Dublin Super Cup campaign with a clinical if slightly flattering 5-0 victory over an Airtricity XI. Anthony Stokes and Gary Hooper both bagged doubles with Daryl Murphy also on the scoresheet as Celtic raced to victory late on.

Newcastle suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Championship side Leeds at Elland Road, with the home side twice pegged back before Billy Paynter's headed winner.

The hosts, fielding new signings Andy Lonergan and Michael Brown, made a fast start in their final pre-season friendly and burst into a fifth-minute lead when Patrick Kisnorbo was in the right place to take advantage of a piece of poor handling from Newcastle's Fraser Forster.

Leeds' early dominance continued and they could have doubled their advantage when Max Gradel headed home, only for him to be denied by the offside flag.

Newcastle found their stride and levelled 10 minutes before the break when Steven Taylor nodded home a corner at the far post, amid claims of a foul on Brown.

It had been an encouraging performance by Simon Grayson's men and the Elland Road crowd had even more reason to cheer midway through the second period when substitute Lloyd Sam restored the home advantage by firing in from a tight angle.

It was a lacklustre performance from the Premier League side throughout, but they levelled for the second time in the game when Haris Vuckic powered past Lonergan with 14 minutes to go.

But Leeds were not to be denied a deserved victory as Paynter struck home his first goal of the pre-season campaign to leave Newcastle boss Alan Pardew to reflect on a sub-standard display.

Elsewhere, Alfreton Town enjoyed an afternoon to remember - thumping a Sheffield Wednesday XI 14-0 in a surprisingly one-sided encounter for the Blue Square Premier side.

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