Defending Premier League Champion Manchester City officially started their new campaign yesterday after playing a club friendly match against Mexican side Club America in the city of Houston, Texas with the first team squad.
Despite being a pre-season friendly, Manchester City vs Club America, was an anticipated match across North America, which was broadcast through numerous TV channels and online live streaming sites.
What are the lessons learned from the preseason friendly of Manchester City vs Club America?
The match was a pure classic as the English giant dominated the entire match with accurate positions and greater pressing actions.
Kevin De Bruyne is once again City’s protector
Manchester City defeated Club America 2-1 in Houston as a result of two precise goals from Kevin De Bruyne, which gave the Citizens a winning start to the preseason in Texas, USA.
The Absence of Erling Haaland
The majority of Pep Guardiola’s traveling team played in the occasionally tumultuous friendly on the challenging surface, while Erling Haaland was still waiting for his debut and the £51 million acquisition enjoyed a night off as 61,223 fans travelled to the NRG Stadium to see the Premier League champions.
Heroic efforts of Jack Grealish
Jack Grealish must have felt quite at home despite the fact that this friendly was hundreds of miles away from Manchester and it might have taken place at any Premier League venue, with the home fans booing nonstop and the opposition chopping down players at every chance.
Even though this was only the first friendly of the tour, Grealish had a genuine desire to create an impression in anticipation of a huge second season as he was undoubtedly aware of his existence since he frequently engaged the referee, Armando Villarreal, in chat concerning penalty appeals.
After a frantic run during which he eliminated three Club America defenders from the match, Jack Grealish was hacked to the ground and then he showed agony by stepping into risky situations, but he was still subjected to harsh punishment, some of which the broadcaster at the NRG refused to display on the big screen.
Julian Alvarez Debut
Despite missing out the inauguration of Erling Haaland, Man City fans experienced a brief debut spell of their another signing Julian Alvarez who joined the Manchester side from Argentine club River Plate this summer.
The friendly of Manchester City vs Club America took a different turn when the Argentine came to the pitch and he was able to impact instantly by creating a chance in front of the goal with the help of talented Riyad Mahrez.
Alvarez’s style of play indicated that he will be equally skilled at working on either flank or through the center, coming deep and subsequently enabling De Bruyne to burst free.
Kalvin Phillips’ immaculate debut
After the break, Pep Guardiola ordered another new signing Kalvin Phillips to join the game who played impressively despite acted as a replacement defender against Club America.
The former Leeds United midfielder widely covered the defensive area for the Citizens alongside Rodri, Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker.
In conclusion, Manchester City vs Club America was one of the best preseason matches of this summer so far and it gave a glimpse to the Premier League fans that how lethal the noisy side of Manchester could be on their upcoming league matches from next month.
