Manchester City stars on display in Spain’s draw with Portugal

LISBON, PORTUGAL - OCTOBER 07: Joao Cancelo of Portugal controls the ball during the international friendly match between Portugal and Spain at Estadio Jose Alvalade on October 7, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
LISBON, PORTUGAL - OCTOBER 07: Joao Cancelo of Portugal controls the ball during the international friendly match between Portugal and Spain at Estadio Jose Alvalade on October 7, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

Several Manchester City players turned in excellent performances in a 0-0 friendly between Spain and Portugal.

Six Manchester City players were present in the matchday squads of Spain and Portugal, who played out an entertaining 0-0 draw in a friendly to open up the international break. Three City defenders kept clean sheets in the match, with João Cancelo impressing in particular.

Despite being reportedly injured as City suffered horrid left-back play from Benjamin Mendy, Cancelo was absolutely brilliant, playing 90 minutes and keeping a clean sheet. If it truly was a question of fitness, he should absolutely be the team’s first-choice left-back moving forward, but this situation is odd to say the least.

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Rúben Dias and Bernardo Silva both played for half of the match and performed well, while Rodri played 38 minutes on the other side. Eric García was handed the start for La Roja and defended well, and we will see if this form maintains for City given his anger of being denied a move to Barcelona this window.

This was a great chance to see several of City’s stars in action, with only Ferran Torres not getting the opportunity to feature off the bench. The defensive performances, especially from Cancelo and Dias, were particularly encouraging as City look to field a full-strength backline in a massive Premier League clash against Mikel Arteta’s in-form Arsenal.

As the international break continues, City will hope their players can keep up form and fitness in order to get back into the Premier League title race once club football resumes in the next week.