Yokohama F. Marinos 1-3 Man City: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Kevin De Bruyne Stars in Tricky Win
A Kevin De Bruyne masterclass helped Manchester City edge out an impressive Yokohama F. Marinos side in Japan, as goals from the Belgian, Raheem Sterling and Lukas Nmecha secured a 3-1 victory.
City were lacklustre during their final game in Asia, with Yokohama impressively carrying the fight to the Premier League champions.
De Bruyne opened the scoring on 18 minutes with a well-taken left footed finish into the near post, after a precise Bernardo Silva pass. The hosts levelled just six minutes later through Keita Endo, following an impressive double save from Claudio Bravo.
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However, City retook the lead towards the end of the half - Sterling finishing off an inch-perfect De Bruyne pass.
The second half lacked the same zip from the first period, but Yokohama continued to pose a threat - and carved out the best chances of the second half. They had three glorious opportunities in the second 45, but were unable to convert. City's intensity dropped majorly, but were able to round off the game with a deft Nmecha finish in stoppage time.
Check out 90min's review of the game below.
Manchester City
Key Talking Point
The Citizens fielded a very strong starting lineup and were fluid in attack, wasting no time getting into their groove. Sterling operated as the lone striker, with Leroy Sane and Bernardo either side. Yokohama held an astonishingly high defensive line, allowing the front three to make constant direct runs in behind - and City certainly benefited.
Pep Guardiola was animated throughout the game, gesticulating in all directions as his side were carved open at the back on far too many occasions. Yokohama had many guilt-edged opportunities in the first half, and City had to make last ditch tackles. There was an heir of complacency and fragility at the back - with Kyle Walker constantly out of position.
Perhaps the most worrying thing for City fans was the discussion Guardiola had with Walker during a drinks break in the first half. Walker was unable to find his midfield teammates, instead passing the ball sideways to Stones on nine occasions in the first half. In comparison, Oleksandr Zinchenko was often able to find new signing Rodri in the centre, and attacks were able to stem from there.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Bravo (7); Walker (4), Stones (5), Laporte (6), Zinchenko (6); Rodrigo (6), De Bruyne (9*), Silva (5); Bernardo (6), Sterling (7), Sane (6)
Substitutes: Gundogan (6), Foden (6), Nmecha (6), Angelino (5), Bernabe (6), Poveda-Ocampo (5), Danilo (5)
STAR MAN - De Bruyne was simply magnificent during the time he was on the field. The Belgium international has had his issues with injuries over the last year, but he showed once again why he is regarded as one of the best around.
City fans will take great heart from the fact that the number 17 covered the most distance of any Sky Blues player in the first half (6.2 kilometres), and he also carried out 15 sprints in that time.
Other members such as David Silva looked lethargic and off the pace, but the midfield maestro certainly was not. With Silva achieving a pass accuracy of 67% in the first half, it's clear to see that the creativity came from De Bruyne. He picked up one goal and one assist, hardly putting a foot wrong.
Looking Ahead
Manchester City will now turn their attention towards the Community Shield, where they take on a Liverpool side who will be keen to dethrone them in the upcoming league campaign.
Pep Guardiola will have learnt a lot from this pre-season friendly, and will undoubtedly use it to motivate his players as they look to prepare for another long and tiring campaign - potentially mounting another push for the quadruple.
