Erling Haaland got a goal on his pre-season debut for Manchester City, which turned out to be the winner as the reigning Premier League champions beat 10-time defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich 1-0 in their blockbuster club friendly in the United States.
The friendly was hampered by delays due to inclement weather, but after a slow start, Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens outclassed his old club Bayern for most of the match.
With the arrival of Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish ready to bounce back after an underwhelming debut season, City are looking as strong as ever.
Meanwhile, there is still much work for Bayern’s Julian Nagelsmann as he must integrate a handful of new signings and reconstruct the team’s playing style with Robert Lewandowski no longer around.
So read on as SBOTOP shares three key talking points from this star-studded friendly between two of Europe’s elite clubs.
City’s Haaland-Grealish combo shows promise
Aside from young Josh Wilson-Esbrand starting at left-back and Nathan Ake at centre-back, Pep Guardiola fielded his likely first-choice XI against Bayern Munich, with Erling Haaland getting his much-awaited first start for the Sky Blues.
And it took all of 12 minutes for the young goal-machine to open his account for his new club, in large part thanks to Jack Grealish.
Grealish took a Kevin De Bruyne through ball expertly in his stride as he blew past the Bayern defence and squared it to Haaland, who slid in to score what turned out to be the winning goal in a 1-0 City win.
Grealish was at the centre of more of City’s club friendly 2022 highlights, but he couldn’t quite add another goal. Haaland also did not have too many chances after scoring his early goal and was taken off at half-time, but he did have a decent debut performance overall as he pressed well and made some fine runs into space.
The Grealish-to-Haaland goal could very well be the first of several goal-scoring connections between City’s two marquee signings over the last couple of seasons.
Grealish – who came over last summer in a record £100 million move – looks geared up to bounce back after his underwhelming debut season. The left wing position is his to lose with Raheem Sterling no longer around, and in Haaland, he has the perfect target man to get on the end of great chances he can provide.
Bayern have work to do
The club friendly 2022 odds had Bayern as underdogs against Man City, but the match turned out to me more lopsided than expected as the German champions had a disappointing display.
The Bavarians made a promising enough start – they had a seemingly good goal ruled out due to an incorrect offside call – but they looked second-best against City for most of the match. Former City winger Leroy Sane hardly made an impact against his old club, while star midfielder Joshua Kimmich looked out of sorts.
Granted, Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann did not have new striker Sadio Mane available and with Robert Lewandowski gone, he was forced to field a front three of Sane, Thomas Muller and Serge Gnabry. But still, Nagelsmann’s back-3 system looked ineffective after the opening 10 minutes as they struggled to compete with City.
With new signings Mane, Matthijs de Ligt, Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui all set to come into the side, Bayern should get considerably stronger once they have their full squad together.
Nevertheless, their performance against City was a wake-up call for Bayern. While they have dominated the Bundesliga for the last decade, their place among Europe’s elite is under threat, especially with Lewandowski no longer in the fold.
Bayern still have a more than capable squad that can compete with the continent’s best, but with a bit less star power than before, Nagelsmann will need to get a bit more out of his players this season.
Kalvin Phillips faces battle to earn starting place
Aside from Haaland, Kalvin Phillips – City’s other big summer signing – also made his club debut as he came on as a substitute. But it seems quite clear that the former Leeds man faces a tough task in terms of unseating the likes of Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva in City’s midfield.
All three were excellent against Bayern, as they have been for most of the pre-season. De Bruyne, who scored a brace in their previous friendly against Club America, ran the show once again, while Bernardo Silva also impressive while playing a slightly deeper role alongside Rodri.
Obviously, Phillips will get some game time throughout the season as Guardiola likes to consistently rotate his side. But the England international will likely have to bide his time on the City bench as the Bernardo-KDB-Rodri midfield remains as rock-solid as ever.
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