Manchester City's pre-season tour of the United States began with a 4-3 defeat to Celtic in North Carolina.

In this article, we present you with all the goals and highlights from Man City's thrilling 4-3 loss to Celtic in North Carolina as part of their pre-season tour of the United States.

Manchester City had started their tour of the United States with a thrilling 4-3 defeat to Celtic at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. In a contest that saw plenty of goals and high-level competition, it was an albeit not comprehensive preview to see how teams were tactically lining up as well as the form their players are in coming into the new season.

All Goals highlights

A Show of Offensive Lightning

The game had a very promising start with both teams showing strong presence offensively. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City displayed their characteristic ballretention and ability to counter-attack quickly. Summer recruit Mateo Kovacic also made a debut impression, linking nicely with City's midfield metronomes Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri. That attack, led by the one and only Erling Haaland (who scored twice in the first half), looked like a single-city wrecking ball.

Celtic's Toughness and a Tactical Masterclass

Celtic showed great flexibility and resilience, however, despite City's frustrating dominance in the opening hour. Brendan Rodgers, manager of Celtic, prepared his team to take advantage of a high line at the back and it worked in spades. Kyogo Furuhashi hit two for Celtic and terrorised the City backline with his electric pace, intelligent movement causing panicky panic councils.


DEFENSIVE FRAILTIES LAID BARE

While the game may have been enthralling for even a neutral supporter this also exposed some defensive frailties in Manchester City. That was in part because of the absence of centre-back pairing Ruben Dias and John Stones, who were rested for this game. While a makeshift defence, was carved open with startling regularity by Celtic on the counter attack and it would prove to be those defensive lapses that were their undoing.

Tactical Insights & Overall Player Evaluations

This game was a chance for Guardiola to play around with his tactics and players performances, as seen by the starting XI chosen. The game also gave a debut to prodigious talent Rico Lewis as he was introduced in the second period. Kalvin Phillips, too, a player who missed so much of last season through injury was given some important minutes to get himself fit and bed into Guardiola's system.


Looking Ahead

There were plenty of positives for Manchester City to take from the match, despite the defeat. The forward line also performed well and both Haaland as De Bruyne continued their fine form from last season. The pre-season tour will serve as a further platform for tactical adjustments and assessing the squad in preparation for what promises to be another gruelling Premier League season.

City's next game on their US tour is against Bayern Munich in New York, another tough one for Guardiola and Co. Consequently, they will want to know how City's squad can bounce back and indeed whether the Citizens have taken anything from their defeat at Celtic Park but all involved with Manchester City hope those lessons were learned in an environment that did not count.


So Manchester City continue their preseason preparations with a 4-3 defeat to Celtic in North Carolina – but it was an entertaining spectacle that provided glimpses of both the good and bad ahead for Guardiola's side. City will use the tour to continue working on their plans for next season and try to gain some momentum.