Manchester City’s preseason tour of the United States got off to a rocky start with a 4-3 loss to Celtic in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Tuesday.
Following a severe weather warning and brief evacuation, City fielded a young lineup, with the exception of veteran starters Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish, and Kalvin Phillips.
The match also marked the debut of goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel for Celtic, who made two impressive saves in the first half.
Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn opened the scoring for Celtic, but Oscar Bobb equalized for Man City. Kuhn and Kyogo Furuhashi scored again before halftime to give Celtic a 3-1 lead. Bobb later assisted on a Haaland goal, and Máximo Perrone added another goal. Celtic’s Luis Palma ultimately scored the winning goal in the 68th minute.
JACK GAUGHAN was in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he picked out five key takeaways from the match.
Erling Haaland celebrates scoring his team’s third goal during on Tuesday evening
Manchester City trails Celtic in fitness
Celtic caught City off guard with their intense pressing and precise play through the thirds. Having already played three friendlies, the Scottish champions appeared sharper and more prepared.
This was perhaps to be expected, given that Guardiola’s depleted squad only linked up last week. However, the City boss did seem agitated by the space afforded in the middle third.
Kalvin Phillips, who is likely to leave on loan this summer, was caught pressing too high up the pitch in the build-up to Nicolas Kuhn’s second goal, a good 25 yards ahead of play inside Celtic’s half.
Kuhn’s first goal had also come after oceans of space in central midfield, which won’t have thrilled Guardiola. Phillips was taken off at half-time.
City finished the evening with nine academy graduates on the pitch, with an average age of 20.5 years – skewed by Al-Ittihad target Ederson, 31 next month.
Haaland gets off the mark
Kasper Schmeichel came through City’s academy and made 10 appearances for them before Joe Hart and Shay Given blocked his path. Now 37, the veteran had a point to prove on his Celtic debut – ironically, replacing the retired Hart as No 1.
The Dane relished the battle with Erling Haaland – who was sharp after a decent break owing to Norway not making the European Championship.
Twice Haaland was thwarted when through on goal, more to do with strong goalkeeping than wayward finishing. Celtic have found themselves a highly motivated goalkeeper in Schmeichel.
Captain for the night, Haaland showed a nice dummy from Nico O’Reilly’s cutback to allow Oscar Bobb to net City’s first-half equaliser and dropped into space intelligently.
Haaland was up and running in pre-season later, powering home a header from Bobb’s smart cross before being withdrawn just after the hour. Schmeichel had been replaced by that point.
Bobb flashes his potential
Oscar Bobb finished the night with a goal and two assists, showcasing his impressive potential.
Despite the positive output, Bobb didn’t seem overly satisfied with his own performance.
That can only be a good thing for Guardiola, and Bobb made clear ahead of this game where he wants to improve over the coming season.
The 21-year-old revealed that he’s willing to remain patient and not look for a temporary switch and doesn’t necessarily judge his progression on bettering the 26 appearances in his breakthrough term.
‘I look at the players in my position, Bernardo Silva or Phil Foden,’ Bobb said. ‘They’re consistent every session, every game. I can work and become a lot better. It’s about constantly raising my level and becoming more consistent.’
Bobb added: ‘Playing for this manager has always been a dream. If I have to wait a bit longer to get more playing time, I don’t mind.’
City supporters told to evacuate due to weather
It wouldn’t be a City pre-season tour without the risk of a friendly falling foul to inclement weather, and storms were brewing around Chapel Hill an hour before kick-off.
Grumbling supporters were told to evacuate Kenan Stadium, the university’s college football arena, with a severe weather warning surrounding the area.
The scenes brought back memories to each of the last two trips, in the United States and then Asia. Two years to the day, City’s game against Bayern Munich in Green Bay was hampered by horrific weather and the length of the game cut short.
And then in Seoul, the pitch seemed completely unplayable after a deluge ahead of a clash against Atletico Madrid.
Bizarrely, here there wasn’t even a drop of rain, fans invited back in, and the game started just a few minutes late in front of 31,000 supporters.
Doyle gives brief show before loan
Callum Doyle was among the youngsters who came on at the break with City 3-1 down and is expected to join Norwich City on a season-long loan once the American tour is over. That will be a third consecutive Championship stint for the talented England Under-21 international – having impressed at Coventry City and Leicester City – as he continues to develop.
Doyle won’t be the only one to leave, with two others – who aren’t on this trip – attracting interest from elsewhere. Borussia Dortmund are haggling over a fee for right-back Yan Couto, with City valuing the Brazilian at around £30million.
And Issa Kabore, at Luton Town during their Premier League campaign, is on the market for £15m and a target for Galatasaray.