Man City 1-4 Real Madrid: 6 things we learned as Ronaldo, Bale and co sweep past City

Raheem Sterling was one of the few positives in a poor City display, which also saw former Aston Villa man Fabian Delph stretchered off just 18 minutes into his debut as a blue

Real Madrid outclassed Manchester City in the International Champions Cup, running out 4-1 winners at the MCG in Melbourne.

Ronaldo and Benzema were both on the scoresheet for Los Blancos as they cruised to victory over Manuel Pellegrini's side, who fielded an inexperienced defensive pairing at the heart of their defence.

Raheem Sterling was one of the few positives in a poor City display, which also saw former Aston Villa man Fabian Delph stretchered off just 18 minutes into his debut as a blue.

Pepe put Rafa Benitez's side three ahead following poor City marking from a corner before Yaya Toure replied with a penalty won by new boy Sterling just before half-time.

Dennis Cheryshev sealed the win for Madrid with a smart finish, on what was a miserable day for the Citizens in Melbourne.

Here are five things we learned from the match:

Sterling shines again

Raheem Sterling: The new signing was one of few bright spots for City

New Manchester City poster boy Raheem Sterling was one of the only shining lights in a poor performance from Pellegrini's men, causing problem after problem for this first choice Real Madrid back four.

Everything positive from a blue point of view seemed to come through the England International as he glided past defenders with ease, won a penalty just before halftime and just generally made a nuisance of himself throughout.

The £49million summer signing has shown good form in both of his pre-season appearances so far, and his new Boss as well as the City faithful will have been impressed with what they have seen so far from their new man.

City's defensive fragilities exposed

Cameron Humphreys struggled against Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale - but who wouldn't?

City can be excused to a certain extent with their young and experimental centre half partnership, however we cannot pin all of the blame on young Cameron Humphreys and Jason Denayer.

With a combined age of just 36 the youngsters at the back may have been slightly out of their depth against a strong Madrid side, who simply blew them away in the first half. They can not be excused however, for their poor defensive line for the second goal, and the lack of marking for the third which really ended the contest before half time.

On the whole City were poor in midfield and even worse at the back, with their failure to do the basics costing them here. Lucky its only pre-season eh?

Benzema, Bale, Ronaldo: frightening

Cristiano Ronaldo: Back among the goals against City

Possibly one of the most formidable attacking trios in European football for as long as many of us will be able to remember, and they look as sharp as ever. If it wasn't for a just as remarkable forward three over at their rivals Barcelona, this particular strike force would have received a great deal more praise last year.

Two quality goals from Benzema and Ronaldo respectively combined with a high intensity performance from Bale was simply too much to handle for Manuel Pellegrini's men, who in truth, were outclassed by Madrid's forward three.

Los Blancos simply tore an inexperienced City back line to shreds in this pre-season tie, with every siege on Joe Hart's goal looking like it would result in a healthier lead for Rafa Benitez's side.

Fabian Delph faces a race to be fit

Fabian Delph: His debut did not last long before he had to come off injured

After his controversial switch from Aston Villa to the Etihad England International Fabian Delph had a debut to forget, lasting just 18 minutes before being stretchered off at the MCG.

In a extremely unlucky start to his career at City the 25-year-old is now surely a huge doubt for the start of the new Premier League season, by picking up what looks to be a hamstring injury.

Isco a future great

Isco is often outshone in this Real Madrid team, with Ronaldo and co soaking up the majority of the media praise and attention.

However on this particular occasion the little Spaniard really stood out, slaloming past challenges and linking up wonderfully with his teammates around him.

He was at the heart of many of Madrid's key attacking moves before being subbed on 76 minutes, hanging on to possession for his side whenever they were under pressure and really kept them ticking over throughout.

The 23-year-old has reached a stage in his career in which he could either kick on and become a real star or fade away beneath the countless other world beaters in this Los Blancos team, but based on this performance alone he could well grow into a Superstar under the management of Rafa Benitez.

Some fans just want a hug

One over-excited fan was tackled by a steward after he stormed onto the pitch and tried to reach Gareth Bale during the match.

Sporting a bright pink top, he held out his hand, seemingly desperate to touch the former Tottenham man, but he was quickly tackled by a steward who had run on to follow him.

Bale did not appear to be shaken up by the incident and continued the match as normal after the pitch invader had been removed.

Nearly! A pitch invader is seems desperate to reach Gareth Bale

Almost there: He nearly gets to the Welshman, but...

... a steward catches him and grabs him around the waist

Bale was unmoved by the incident

Teams

Man City: Hart, Sagna, Denayer, Humphreys, Kolarov, Toure, Fernando, Delph, Nasri, Silva, Sterling.

Subs: Caballero, Wright, Horsfield, Clichy, Evans, Zuculini, Garcia, Lopes, Navas, Pozo, Unal, Roberts, Iheanacho, Barker, Jovetic, Dzeko.

Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo, Kroos, Modric, Isco, Bale, Ronaldo, Benzema.

Subs: Arbeloa, Llorente, Nacho, Casemiro, Lucas Silva, Jese, Danilo, Cheryshev, Lucas Vazquez, Varane.