Match Report and Player Ratings: Manchester City 3-4 Celtic (Pre-Season Friendly) | OneFootball

Manchester City kicked off their pre-season tour with defeat, falling 3-4 against Celtic in a meeting of the reigning champions of England and Scotland in North Carolina.

In an open and energetic first-half, the Hoops took full advantage of Manchester City’s expansive approach and lack of sharpness, scoring twice through Nicolas Kuhn and getting another from Kyogo Furuhashi to cancel out Oscar Bobb’s striker – underlining how far ahead in their pre-season preparations they are.

The Blues roared back in the second period as Maximo Perrone and Erling Haaland drew them level, but another sharp breakaway from Celtic saw Luis Palma tap in to restore the advantage which eventually won the game for the Glasgow side.

The first shot on target of the match saw the Scottish Premiership champions take the lead just before the 15-minute mark, as incisive play from Matt O’Riley set Kuhn running free, with the German winger finishing smartly beyond Stefan Ortega.

The American fans would have bought their tickets for this one in anticipation of seeing Erling Haaland strut his stuff, and they almost saw him grace the first-half scoresheet twice, only for new Celtic ‘keeper Kasper Schmeichel producing two trademark saves to deny the Norwegian.

The Blues eventually equalised just after the half-hour mark, finally beating Schmeichel with Bobb’s scuffed effort trickling over the line. But they were almost immediately pegged back again, as the O’Riley to Kuhn production line conjured up an almost identical goal to their first.

The Celts hit their third breakaway goal on the brink of half-time, with Kyogo making a run off the back of Luke Mbete and rounding Ortega to slot in for 3-1.

But just as Celtic scored before the break, Manchester City pulled one back almost immediately after the resumption; Oscar Bobb danced into the opposing area and picked out substitute Maximo Perrone, and the midfielder duly tucked in with his very first touch.

Whilst Haaland may have been denied in the opening period, he wasn’t to be kept quiet for long – Bobb hung a ball up to the back post, and the big man snaffled up Liam Scales and buried his header high into the net to equalise.

But that susceptibility to direct balls in behind their high line did for Manchester City again, as Reo Hatate sprang the offside trap and squared for Luis Palma to apply the simplest of finishes.

Manchester City were far from their fluid best, but it was understandable due to the mix-and-matched nature of their line-up and the lack of action so far in pre-season, so they will go into their next friendly against AC Milan on Saturday with positives to take from this one.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Stefan Ortega – 6

Tasked with denying three huge Celtic chances in his 45 minutes of action, but wasn’t able to stop any of them hitting the back of his net.

Rico Lewis – 7.5

Inverted from full-back into midfield with his usual panache, adopting some intelligent areas in advanced positions – something he’s recently expressed a desire to do more for City.

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey – 6.5

His Manchester City pedigree was clear to see with his comfort on the ball, and although the high line caused him a little bother, the FA Youth Cup-winning captain did his part to defend when necessary.

Luke Mbete – 5

Seemed a little panicked in his work on the ball, and switched off to allow Kyogo in for Celtic’s third before being withdrawn at half-time.

Josh Wilson-Esbrand – 4.5

Had a one-on-one nightmare in truth. Simply couldn’t deal with the direct threat of Nicolas Kuhn’s dribbling.

Kalvin Phillips – 5

Struggled badly to deal with the high-speed transitions in the middle, not offering the backline enough protection.

Nico O’Reilly – 7

Showed a number of classy touches which will excite Manchester City fans, none more so than a good pick-out for Oscar Bobb’s goal.

Oscar Bobb – 8.5 (MOTM)

Was a little quiet outside of his goal in the first half, but really showed his authority in the second to set up both goals.

James McAtee – 7

Was impressively comfortable dropping into pockets to show for the ball, playing on the half-turn and pushing Manchester City up the pitch with progressive passing.

Jack Grealish – 7.5

A refreshingly aggressive hour or so from Jack Grealish, in which he looked much more confident taking on players and being creative than he did for much of last season.

Erling Haaland – 7

Kept mostly quiet outside of the goalmouth action, scoring once and drawing two saves from Schmeichel with some sharp movement.

Substitutes

Ederson – 6.5

Cut out a few crosses well but had no chance on Celtic’s winner.

Callum Doyle – 7

Showed his vast experience (relative to most of his young teammates) to play from the back confidently.

Mahamadou Susoho – 7.5

Put in some impressive challenges and never looked flustered on the ball. A really good audition.

Maximo Perrone – 7.5

Struck gold with his first touch and added other moments of quality.

Joel Ndala – 7

Looked a livewire with his willingness to attack a full-back, even if the end product wasn’t quite there.

Jadel Katongo – 6

Passed from the back fairly well.

Jacob Wright – 6

Tidy enough in central midfield.

Ben Knight – N/A

Micah Hamilton – N/A