Manchester City's preparations for the forthcoming Premier League campaign have suffered a setback after they were beaten 4-2 by Stuttgart.
The Bundesliga outfit took an early lead at the Mercedes-Benz Arena when Filip Kostic latched on to a long ball which caught out the Citizens' defence before the Serbian stabbed his effort past Joe Hart.
Stuttgart added a second on 20 minutes when another break led to Daniel Didavi slotting past Hart.
City struggled to subdue the German side on the counter attack and they were punished again on 35 minutes as Daniel Ginczek scored a third for the hosts.
Within moments, Ginczek netted his second of the afternoon when he got the better of Bacary Sagna before firing the ball beyond a helpless Hart.
The Blues almost pulled a goal back midway through the second half when Raheem Sterling fired narrowly wide from David Silva's pass.
City did earn a consolation goal after Sterling teed up Nigerian youngster Kelechi Iheanacho on 83 minutes before the visitors rounded off their difficult afternoon with a Edin Dzeko strike.
Chris O'Keefe
