Football: Man City humbled by Real Madrid in Australia

His Manchester City side were humbled in the final match of their Australian tour, but coach Manuel Pellegrini says his pre-season plans remain on track.

A 4-1 scoreline didn't flatter opponents Real Madrid, who were lethal going forward and found the net through Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Denis Cherychev. Yaya Toure replied from the penalty spot, but there was no doubting City was second-best against the La Liga giants.

City's major qualifying factor was the absence of three first-choice centre-backs. In the absence of captain Vincent Kompany, Eliaquim Mangala and Martin Demichelis, City fielded 16-year-old Cameron Humphreys and 20-year-old Jason Denayer in defence against the world's most expensive forward line.

Pellegrini said he wasn't upset by the result because he was building towards the season.

"We knew before the game it would be difficult to play a game against a team with such good attackers without Kompany, Mangala, Demichelis," he said.

"(The result) is not a concern because we have a lot of missing players. "You cannot be worried in this moment about the scores, winning or losing."

The defensive trio should all be fine for the start of the season, with Kompany returning to Europe early for the birth of his child, Mangala taken ill and Demichelis still recovering from the Copa America.

But Fabian Delph is an unlikely starter for the early stages of the season, after the new signing was carried off with a hamstring injury against Real.

"Unfortunately Fabian has a problem with his hamstring," Pellegrini said. "This injury is not the best news. He was just starting the season with our team, but tomorrow we will have a more clear diagnosis from the doctor."

Friday night's match in front of a record crowd 99,384 ends City's fortnight in Australia. Pellegrini said he was delighted with the welcome in the city of their sister club, Melbourne City.

"It's a beautiful country with a lot of facilities, good weather, good training grounds," he said.

"I think we chose the correct way, the correct path to make the pre-season."

City claimed a penalty shoot-out win after a 2-2 draw with Roma on Tuesday night before their loss to Real.

Pellegrini's side now head to Vietnam and Germany for friendly matches before beginning the English Premier League season on August 10 against West Bromwich Albion.