Youthful Manchester City side narrowly miss out in Chicago
Riyad Mahrez made his club debut as City fell short against Borussia Dortmund at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
Mario Gotze scored the only goal of the game from the spot midway through the first half, after Oleksandr Zinchenko felled American youngster Christian Pulisic.
Pep Guardiola already indicated he would utilise Manchester City’s youth even before the starting eleven was announced. The Spaniard opted for Riyad Mahrez as a striker alongside 18-year-old Luke Bolton, while Claudio Bravo made a rare start.
Other notable names in the lineup included Zinchenko, Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz. Both Leroy Sane and Joe Hart came off the bench after the half time interval.
In a relatively low-key warm-up game in Chicago, Manchester City struggled to rely on youth alone to combat a far more experienced Dortmund side.
Mahrez came agonisingly close to a debut goal when his deflected free kick was superbly palmed over the crossbar by Swiss stopper Marwin Hitz.
That was as close as the Sky Blues came, and even hauling Sane from the sidelines couldn’t spark a comeback.
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Borussia Dortmund also created few clear-cut opportunities, but the first half penalty proved enough to seal the win. Pulisic’s driving run saw Zinchenko stick a leg out and the American went over it. Bravo got a strong hand to Gotze’s penalty, however not strong enough as it squirmed into the back of the net.
Guardiola can take optimism from the game, though. Mahrez looked dangerous in flashes, Joe Hart had an impressive half, and the inexperience of the team always suggested City would find it difficult.
Expect change
The Premier League champions are likely to have a completely different look in their next match, but hopefully we see Riyad Mahrez continue to clock up minutes in a sky blue shirt.
Manchester City continue their preparations against title rivals Liverpool on Thursday, before rounding off their preseason tour versus Bayern Munich three days later.