Manchester City 2-1 Club América: Kevin De Bruyne Brace The Difference In Houston
Manchester City began their preseason practices in Houston, Texas, with a 2-1 victory over Club América.
Kevin De Bruyne was at his mesmerizing best, hitting two brilliant right-footed goals in the first half.
His first-half goals came between Henry Martin's equalizer for Club América in the 43rd minute.
City will play Bayern Munich in their second and final preseason friendly before returning to England in a few days.Pep Guardiola was tasked with naming his first team for the 2022/23 season, with a slew of new faces to choose from.
He chose to start new German goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo at fullback.
The seasoned Nathan Aké was paired with Luke Mbete at center-back, and City's preferred midfield three of Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva made their long-awaited return.We had to wait for Erling Haaland to make his debut, but Argentine attacker Julian Alvarez was joined in the front three by Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealsh.Although there was a quality disparity between the two teams, Club América had the first chance of the game after only two minutes, forcing Ortega into a nice save at the back post.
Early on, City were enjoying joy down their left side, and we saw glimpses of a silky combination developing between Grealish and Silva.
In the early exchanges, the former was having the most fun on the ball, weaving in and out of challenges and driving City into some hazardous places. One of his free kicks resulted in the Blues' first shot of the game, which De Bruyne placed into the wall.Cancelo came inches away from extending City's lead when his shot from the edge of the box went wide near the end of the first half.
Minutes later, though, Club América equalized, with Henry Martin twisting and spinning inside the area before slotting the ball through Ortega's legs.
It didn't take long for City to retaliate, as it was De Bruyne who grabbed onto Mahrez's pass in behind the backline to score his second.Guardiola, as expected, made a slew of changes at halftime, bringing in Cole Palmer, Josh Wilson-Esbrand, and Kalvin Phillips, the latter making his City debut at center-back.
Grealish was given a fantastic opportunity after a defensive mix-up, but his strike was superbly saved by the Club América goalie.
The England international was tenacious throughout the evening and nearly set up De Bruyne for his hat-trick in the 55th minute, but the Belgian's effort was stopped low to the keeper's right.The game then kind of petered out, with City maintaining dominate possession to secure their first victory of the 2022/23 season.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0