[ad_1]
Manchester City ended their pre-season trip to Asia with a 3-1 win over Yokohama F Marinos in Japan. In their final warm-up before battling in the Liverpool Community Shield next week at Wembley, goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Lukas Nmecha secured victory for the Premier League champions against their sister club.
In the 18th minute, De Bruyne opened the scoring against 65,000 spectators at the Nissan Stadium, home of the 2002 World Cup final, although Yokahama reacted quickly. City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo seemed to have saved the hosts from a double save before Endo rebounded to 1-1 in the 23rd minute.
De Bruyne was the architect of City's second goal, five minutes before the break, as his ball plunged into the ball to allow Sterling to clear his way and regain the advantage.
Pep Guardiola's men were forced to work for the win and Yokahama came close to a second equalizer after the break, but Bravo saved well from Takuya Kida. After two minutes of play, City led to victory when Nmecha forced the ball over the line following a center from teammate Adrián Bernabé.
Guardiola said, "Yokohama played incredible football and this has been an incredible test for us. I knew how good they were and it was difficult for us. Now we need more games to be in the best conditions. "
While Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus were resting after taking part in the Copa America, Guardiola played a central role in Sterling and saluted the winger's contribution. "Sterling as an attacker is amazing, so we have a lot of solutions," said the manager. "The players are good and they will be back soon."
The Fiver: register and receive our daily email on football.
Source link
