Samir Nasri celebrates his goal against Melbourne City
The £49m attacker was not risked for the Gold Coast friendly having only landed in Australia less than 48 hours before kick-off.
The former Liverpool star has trained with his new team-mates, but will have to wait until next week to make his debut with City in action against Roma on Tuesday and then Real Madrid on Friday in the International Champions Cup in Melbourne.
Also absent was fellow new signing Fabian Delph, who is expected to fly out to Oz over the weekend to link up with the squad following his dramatic U-turn about leaving Aston Villa.
Without them, City huffed and puffed - especially in the second-half until Samir Nasri smashed a shot into the top corner with time running out.
Despite saying that he would start with his strongest available team, City boss Manuel Pellegrini went with youngsters Brandon Barker, Cameron Humphreys and Manuel Garcia.
That meant the likes of David Silva, Bacary Sagna and Edin Dzeko were left out completely amid rumours they could all be surplus to requirements this season.
Reserve goalkeeper Willy Caballero almost gifted Melbourne the opener on 10 minutes when a poor kick rebounded off an opponent straight to Wade Dekker with an open goal. But he delayed his shot and Vincent Kompany made a last-gasp tackle.
Melbourne wasted an even better chance close to half-time when Stefan Mauk somehow spooned the ball over the bar from just three yards for one of the worst misses of the year.
In between, Yaya Toure rattled the crossbar with a 20-yard free-kick, while Jesus Navas and Nasri should have done better when set up with clear shots inside the area.
City controlled the game better after the break, but actually threatened the Melbourne goal less.
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Instead, it was Harry Novillo who went closest for the Aussies after gliding past full-back Barker and then deftly chipping Caballero, with the ball only narrowly dropping just wide.
Nasri finally won it for City with just five minutes to go as he scored his most difficult chance, firing in with an acrobatic half-volley after chesting down a pass on the edge of the area.