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Manchester City: 3 Thoughts from ICC Borussia Dortmund Friendly

By Larry Henry

SHENZHEN, CHINA - JULY 28: Angus Gunn of Manchester City reacts during the 2016 International Champions Cup match between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund at Shenzhen Universiade Stadium on July 28, 2016 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
SHENZHEN, CHINA - JULY 28: Angus Gunn of Manchester City reacts during the 2016 International Champions Cup match between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund at Shenzhen Universiade Stadium on July 28, 2016 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /
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SHENZHEN, CHINA – JULY 28: Manchester City players line up prior to the 2016 International Champions Cup match between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund at Shenzhen Universiade Stadium on July 28, 2016 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
SHENZHEN, CHINA – JULY 28: Manchester City players line up prior to the 2016 International Champions Cup match between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund at Shenzhen Universiade Stadium on July 28, 2016 in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) /

In their first warm-up friendly of the summer, Manchester City finally took the pitch in China as they defeated German-side Borussia Dortmund 6-5 in a penalty shoot-out in Shenzhen on Thursday.

Pep Guardiola‘s side finally got their second game action of the off-season after having their Manchester Derby in Beijing last Friday postponed due to bad weather and field conditions. They faced off against Thomas Tuchel‘s Dortmund side who were in their second pre-season friendly as well.

Sergio Aguero gave City a 1-0 advantage in the 79th minute after he tapped home from close range in front of goal. It was a neat passage of play from the City attackers which saw the Argentinian have little to do with his opportunity.

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Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic equalized in the 90th minute after his shot squeezed through City keeper Angus Gunn to send the 1-1 match into penalty kicks.

Gunn would be the hero in the shoot-out however after he saved three Dortmund shots including the final one which clinched the 6-5 victory for City. Dortmund keeper Roman Burki saved two City shots off of the feet of Manu Garcia and Raheem Sterling.

After watching the match, here are three things I took away from the contest in Shenzhen.

1.) Passing out of the back seems a worry. 
Granted not all the starters were playing together in the back-line, but still there were moments where City’s defenders could not beat the pressure by the Dortmund forwards. Nicolas Otamendi, Aleksandar Kolarov, and Gael Clichy were some of the senior defenders who appeared in Thursday’s friendly but it seemed like there wasn’t a ton of chemistry between the back-line and the goalkeepers. A lot of giveaways by the back-line led to continuous pressure by Dortmund and City seemed to have been let off the hook due to poor finishing. Going forward, Guardiola might need to put more emphasis on passing out of the back in training.

2.) Sterling’s confidence takes another hit.
The miserable summer for Raheem Sterling continues after his sub-par run with England in the 2016 UEFA European Tournament. Granted he didn’t do much wrong in a short cameo appearance on Thursday, he had his penalty kick comfortably saved by Roman Burki which doesn’t help his cause. After Manchester City spent roughly €49 million for Sterling last season, they need more from the youngster if he wants to remain with the club and earn playing time with the first team in their numerous competitions this season.

3.) Fernandinho looks like a Captain.
The Manchester City midfielder emerged from the locker-rooms on Thursday wearing the Captain’s armband. With Vincent Kompany still recovering from a calf injury, Fernandinho could definitely play the role as captain for this team going forward. The Brazilian brings great work ethic and a surprise here and there on offense. He loves to go forward but is willing to stick his nose in defensively and put in the dirty work tracking back. He smashed home his penalty kick with confidence, and led City’s pressing game. With the absence of Ilkay Gundogan, we can definitely see Fernandinho’s role increase going forward.

Overall, it was great for Pep Guardiola to get his first victory in charge of Manchester City on Thursday. The players however seem like they need more fitness and possibly another warm-up match before the start of the Barclays Premier League season. Players like Kevin De Bruyne, Bacary Sagna, and Eliaquim Mangala have yet to train with the new boss, while Samir Nasri was benched on Thursday due to weight issues. 

Next: City Transfer Watch: Marlos Moreno set to sign this week

Up next for Manchester City, a friendly vs Arsenal in Gothenburg, Sweden on August 7th before possibly a behind-closed-doors match as another tune-up before Sunderland on August 13th.

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