Manchester City 4 (Haaland 4′,5′,56′, Bobb 55′)
Chelsea 2 (Raheem Sterling 59′, Noni Madueke 89′).
Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City cruised to a 4-2 victory over Chelsea in Columbus, Ohio.
It was a fantastic performance by Pep Guardiola’s side as they put in their best performance of the pre-season to cruise past Enzo Maresca’s side. While Chelsea scored two consolation goals late on City showed they are ready for the Community Shield clash with Manchester United next weekend.
Erling Haaland stole the show with a hat trick. Pep Guardiola told the media before the game that Haaland was over his niggles, and City’s number 9 proved that as he scored three. He had two in the opening 5 minutes which set City on their way. The champions dominated the first half with Kalvin Phillips, Rico Lewis, Mateo Kovacic, Nico O’Reilly, Oscar Bobb, James McAtee and Erling Haaland the standouts. City went into the interval with a 2-nil lead, but in truth, it should’ve been more.
The world champions ended the contest swiftly after halftime. Oscar Bobb got his name on the score sheet in the 55th minute with a classy goal. His goal capped off a stunning pre-season from the Norwegian international. Haaland would complete his hat trick a minute later after being set up by James McAtee. City would get some minutes into the kids after their fourth and Chelsea would pull 2 back to add some respectability to the scoreline. Raheem Sterling scored one in the 59th minute with a nice volley. In the 89th minute, Noni Madueke would add another for Chelsea to make it 4-2 on the night.
All told it was a polished performance from Pep Guardiola’s side. It has been a productive pre-season tour with City’s youngsters showing they can play against quality opponents. Here are the City player ratings from City’s win in Columbus.
City player ratings
Stefan Ortega-6/10: Made one good save in the first half but also got away with one error when Nkunku failed to make him pay.
Rico Lewis- 7/10: Another quality showing for Lewis. He looks ready for the 24/25 season. I’m expecting Lewis to have a big role to play next season.
Kalvin Phillips- 7/10: Another good showing from Phillips. He is better suited to playing at centre-back for City but may not get that opportunity.
Josko Gvardiol-6.5/10: The Croatian is a Rolls Royce of a footballer and he looks to be building into the 24/25 season.
Josh Wilson-Esbrand-6/10: Unfortunately picked up an injury and had to be substituted at halftime. Did what he had to do and has improved over the four friendlies.
Mateo Kovacic-7/10: Once again showed he is a quality player. Kovacic will have a big role to play for Pep Guardiola starting next weekend.
Nico O’Reilly-7/10: Another good showing from O’Reilly. Has played his way into City’s first-team plans for next season. A promising talent.
James McAtee-8.5/10: McAtee saved his best for City’s final friendly of the summer. Grabbed two assists in a quality display and looks ready to take the next step in his career.
Oscar Bobb-8/10: Capped off his superb pre-season with another quality showing. Scored one and looks set for a prominent role next season.
Jack Grealish-7/10: Once again reminded everyone of his quality. A good showing and showed he is ready for next season.
Erling Haaland-9/10: Scored a hat trick and looks in ominous form ahead of the 24/25 season. Looks fully fit after some minor injury concerns. He looms large over the next season.
🎯 @ErlingHaaland 🎯
An early brace for Erling against Chelsea! ✌️
Watch live on CITY+ 👇
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 3, 2024
Substitutes
Tomas Galvez-6/10: Showed some glimpses of quality and will benefit from a loan spell to aid his development.
Mahamadou Susoho-6/10: Another promising cameo from Susoho. Did what he to well without standing out.
Amar Fatah-6/10: Fatah once again showed he has talent. He has become a bright spot of City’s US tour.
Joel Ndala-6/10: Showed some flashes of quality without having a big impact on the game.
Scott Carson-N/A: Not on long enough to mark but always good to see him on the pitch.
Justin Oboavwoduo–N/A: Not on long enough to mark.
Jacob Wright–N/A: Not on long enough to mark but would benefit from a season out on loan to further develop his obvious tools.
Maximo Perrone–N/A: Not on long enough to mark.
Callum Doyle–N/A: Not on long to mark but has shown he is a quality player throughout City’s pre-season tour.
Lakyle Samuel-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.
Stephen Mfuni–N/A: Not on long enough to mark.
