On a day of defensive errors, Manchester City surprisingly lost 3-4 to Celtic.
Despite the fact that some of Manchester City’s key players were not able to return, Pep Guardiola’s team still dominated Celtic in the friendly match in the US. In the 3rd minute, from a direct attack in the central area, Jack Grealish made a pass to the left wing for Nico O’Reilly. The midfielder wearing the number 75 shirt faked a shot to eliminate the opposing defender before unleashing a close-range shot. Unfortunately, the ball went wide of the post.
In the 13th minute, receiving a pass from Matt O’Riley, Nicolas Kuhn dribbled from the right wing straight into Manchester City’s penalty area before unleashing a tricky shot to beat Stefan Ortega, unexpectedly putting Celtic ahead 1-0.
By the 33rd minute, Manchester City had levelled the scoreboard. From a move up the left flank, Nico O’Reilly passed to Oscar Bobb. Unmarked, the Norwegian midfielder fired the ball past Kasper Schmeichel.
Just three minutes later, another mistake from the Manchester City defence saw Reo Hatate pass to Nicolas Kuhn. The No. 10 dribbled at full speed before cutting inside, rounding Josh Wilson-Esbrand and firing past Stefan Ortega for the second time in the match.
Josh Wilson-Esbrand’s nightmare did not end. In the 44th minute, Nicolas Kuhn had a classy flick of the outside of his foot to let Kyogo Furuhashi escape to face Stefan Ortega. He got past the German goalkeeper before putting the ball into the empty net, raising the score to 3-1 for Celtic. This was also the result after the first 45 minutes of play.
Right at the beginning of the second half, minute 46, Oscar Bobb dribbled the ball uncomfortably on the right wing, eliminating two Celtic defenders before making an assist for Maximo Perrone to finish gently, shortening the score to 2-3 for Pep Guardiola’s army.
In the 56th minute, in a left-field situation by Oscar Bobb, the Norwegian midfielder made a cross that seemed to be placed inside for Erling Haaland to head the ball close to the goal, equalizing 3-3 for Manchester City.
After the equalizer, Manchester City players had a psychological advantage. They confidently held the ball and made many notable shots towards goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo’s goal.
In the 67th minute, Celtic unexpectedly scored a goal to take the lead again. Receiving a long pass from his teammate, Yuki Kobayashi escaped down the right wing before making a cross for Luis Palma to easily tap the ball into the empty net.
With all the notable stars withdrawn to give opportunities to young players, Manchester City could not score more goals in the remaining minutes of the second half. In the end, Pep Guardiola’s team lost to Celtic with a score of 3-4.