Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland were on target for Manchester City, as they saw off fellow City Football Group outfit Girona at the Academy Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Story of the Match
Manchester City named a surprisingly strong squad for the encounter, which takes place just five days before Pep Guardiola's side return to competitive action in the Carabao Cup, with Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan among those to start following World Cup disappointment.
Much has been made of the disappointing showing from Kevin De Bruyne and Belgium in Qatar, with the Manchester City midfielder drawing criticism for his performances in the Middle East, which fell short of the blistering best that the Manchester City faithful have come to expect from the 31-year-old. But if there were any suggestions of a lack of match sharpness ahead of the Premier League’s return, he certainly didn’t show it on Saturday afternoon.
The Belgian opened the scoring for the hosts after just five minutes, capitalising on a sloppy pass from former Southampton stopper Paolo Gazzaniga before finishing with the calmness and composure synonymous with his time in East Manchester.
A crowd of some 4,000 fans packed into the Academy Stadium, many of whom hoping to catch a glimpse of Erling Haaland, who will have been chomping at the bit to get back out on the field after Norway failed to qualify for the World Cup, and they didn’t have long to wait before they saw the Norwegian powerhouse back among the goals as he tapped home from close range to double City’s lead after 20 minutes.
There was a training ground feel to proceedings, as was to be expected given that the two sides are connected to one another via the City Football Group, though Girona threatened on occasion in the first half, forcing Stefan Ortega into action on a number of occasions but ultimately failing to find that all-important breakthrough, as Pep Guardiola’s side entered the break two goals to the good.
Manchester City started the second half on the front foot and could’ve had a third early on as De Bruyne sent Haaland racing through on goal, but perhaps a lack of competitive football showed as the Norwegian slipped on the ball in rather comical fashion.
City continued to press high in the second period and should’ve had a third just shy of the hour mark as De Bruyne skipped past Yan Couto before cutting the ball back to Cole Palmer. But with the goal at his mercy, the English youngster mistimed his effort, instead slicing the ball to Riyad Mahrez who powered a near post effort just wide of the upright.
Girona’s best chance of the game came moments later, as Manchester City loanee Yan Couto advanced upfield and squared the ball for Christian Stuani to tap home into an open goal. But, much to the dismay of Couto, Stuani’s first-time effort fired back off the crossbar as the hosts scrambled the ball clear.
The intensity of the match dropped a peg further as the rain began to pour down across an increasingly cold East Manchester, with Erling Haaland and Ilkay Gudogan given an extended period of rest in place of some young blood, as Oscar Bobb and Alexander Robinson got a chance to show Pep Guardiola and the Manchester City faithful what they are capable of in the final quarter of the match. Kevin De Bruyne was the final first-team regular to make way, as he was replaced by Ronan McDonald with ten minutes to go.
The scoreline makes for positive reading for Manchester City fans heading into the second half of the season and whilst the result was merely academic as far as the bigger picture is concerned, there are a number of positives that can be drawn from the game, particularly the Man of the Match showing from Kevin De Bruyne, whose performance showed that he is ready to kickstart their fight on all four fronts.
Lineups
Manchester City: Moreno; Lewis, Katongo, Charles, Gomez; Gundogan (C), De Bruyne, Palmer; Mahrez, Rodgers, Haaland.
Girona: Gazzaniga; Gutierrez, Terrats, Bueno, Martinez; Villa, Garcia, Romeu, Couto; Castallenos, Martin.