Preston NE 0 Manchester City 3

This may have been a different looking Manchester City side but the result was just the same: City dominating the opposition.

Manchester City lined up for this game against Championship high flyers, Preston North End, with a completely different defensive unit than we had played before – including a 17 year old and 18 year old at the heart of defence. As Taylor Harwood-Bellis made his debut alongside Eric Garcia.

Angelino started as the left back, Joao Cancelo made his full debut at right back and Claudio Bravo was in goal. there was even space for Scott Carson on the bench!

The real lasting story here though is quite how assured and ready Harwood-Bellis and Garcia both look for starting in our side. Sure, they will have moments where they make mistakes, but right now they provide some indication why City have not been panicked into buying a centre back this Summer.

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City started the game with a series of confident passes, retaining possession and making Preston do all the running. The Preston pressing served them well in these opening periods but City were just biding their time, looking for that opening.

It came from Raheem Sterling who had looked hungry from the start. He was flattened a couple of times before picking up the ball from Eric Garcia and running from the half way line and slotting home, dodging challenges along the way.

The second goal saw Sterling turn provider for Gabriel Jesus who fired in a low angled shot which powered past the keeper. The third again came from the left hand side and this time it was David Silva who whipped in a shot from a tight angle which bobbled off the boot of a defender, past the stricken keeper.

By half time City had established total control and it was simply a matter of what kind of performance to manage in the second half – to keep the ball  or turn down the intensity levels.

It was probably no real surprise that City opted for the second option as their running dried up and much of their movement slowed. That is not to say there were not further opportunities to score – in fact Garcia found himself narrowly missing a chance at the far post.

In the 60th minute Angelino was replaced by Benjamin Mendy. Angelino had a solid game and would be disappointed to be withdrawn. A few minutes later the imperious David Silva was withdrawn for Adrian Bernabe. The final change came when Sterling was replaced by Riyad Mahrez.

The game petered out into a training match, where City were happy to keep the ball but failed to carve out any clear cut opportunities.

Getting through is always the aim, and to do it against good opposition with a much changed side is a real positive. Some of the performances of the young players today suggest the future is definitely blue as well as the present.