Published: 22:26 EDT, 23 July 2024 | Updated: 22:26 EDT, 23 July 2024
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Manchester City's preseason tour of the United States got off to a shaky start with a 4-3 loss to Celtic in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Tuesday.
Following a severe weather warning and brief evacuation, City went with young lineup outside of veteran starters Erling Haaland, Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips.
It was also the debut of goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel for Celtic, and the former Leicester City star had a pair of impressive first-half saves.
Celtic's Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn got the scoring started but Oscar Bobb would answer for Man City. Kuhn and Kyogo Furuhashi each scored before halftime to push Celtic's lead to 3-1. Bobb would later pick up an assist on a Haaland goal, and Maximo Perrone added a goal of his own. Celtic's Luis Palma would ultimately score the go-ahead goal in the 68th minute.
JACK GAUGHAN was in Chapel Hill North Carolina, where he picked out five things he learned from the match.
Erling Haaland celebrates scoring his team's third goal during on Tuesday evening
Manchester City trails Celtics, fitness-wise
Celtic initially took City by surprise with their intense pressing and incisive play through the thirds. This was the fourth friendly Brendan Rodgers has overseen - having already faced Ayr, Queen's Park and DC United - and the Scottish champions appeared far sharper.
That is perhaps understandable given Guardiola's depleted squad didn't link up until last week, although the City boss did appear agitated at 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 had also come after oceans of space in central midfield, which won't have thrilled Guardiola. Phillips was taken off at half-time.
The Premier League champions were 3-1 down at that point before rallying to bring it back to 3-3 on an entertaining night. Honduran Luis Palma netted the winner with 23 minutes left.
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 up and running
Kasper Schmeichel came through City's academy and turned out on 10 occasions for them before Joe Hart and Shay Given blocked his path. Now 37, the veteran had a bit of 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 potential
Some interesting body language from Bobb, who finished the night with a goal and two assists - underlining his serious potential again.
Despite the positive output, the Norwegian wasn't giving off the air of somebody who was overly satisfied by 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 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 this starting 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 PS30million.
And Issa Kabore, at Luton Town during their Premier League campaign, is on the market for PS15m and a target for Galatasaray.