Manchester City Defeats Sunderland to Win 2013 Barclays Asia Trophy [VIDEO]

Manchester City today won the 2013 Barclays Asia Trophy after defeating Sunderland one-nil in the final at Hong Kong Stadium.

Edin Dzeko scored the winner for Manchester City in the ninth minute after capitalizing on a defensive mistake by Wes Brown after his attempted clearance fell to the Bosnian striker, who unleashed a shot into the net.

Dzeko had an opportunity to double his goal tally in the 65th minute, but his penalty kick sailed over the crossbar.

Manchester City’s victory today is Manuel Pellegrini’s first piece of silverware as the new City manager.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur won the third place match after defeating South China six-nil.

Unfortunately, the 2013 Barclays Asia Trophy was marred by rainstorms throughout most of the tournament, which resulted in pitches being practically unplayable. During an exclusive interview with World Soccer Talk, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore revealed in April that an American version of the Barclays Asia Trophy tournament could be played in the United States. Two major advantages of having the tournament in the States would be the better weather conditions, and shorter distances between the UK and US compared to UK and Asia.