Man City's preseason tour began with defeat as they took on Serie A Champions Inter Milan. The game ended 1-1, before Inter took the Asahi Super Dry Trophy after a 3-1 win on penalties.
It's important to stress, this was just a warm up game. The first (kind of) competitive match most City players had played in since the 25/26 season finished, with a squad missing many of Man City's first team regulars. Erling Haaland, Rodri, Nico O' Reilly, Marc Guehi, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku are still resting after their World Cup exploits.
Ruben Dias, Matheus Nunes and Omar Marmoush have now joined the squad and are expected to play a part as City play a K League All Stars XI on Wednesday.
So, what did we learn from Man City's preseason opener? Let's take a look.
1. Ryan McAidoo is a superstar in the making
Ryan McAidoo, wow! After coming on at half-time, McAidoo showed the 42,000+ fans in Hong Kong exactly what he's capable of. He was dynamic, direct and energetic throughout that second half. He almost scored an absolute worldie, too. After receiving the ball in the middle of the park, McAidoo skillfully evaded, and sat down, his presser and launched into a run taking on Inter player after Inter player. A lovely low curling shot followed, which McAidoo was unlucky enough to see rebound off the far post. Man City fans have seen him in action before after making his first team debut in January in the FA Cup. McAidoo scored in a 10-1 rout of Exeter City. McAidoo should get more first team minutes next season and I can't wait to see him in action again.
2. Claudio Echeverri makes a claim for regular minutes
It's clear to see that there's a player in Claudio Echeverri. However, since his arrival at Man City, the Argentinian youngster has found it difficult to find many first team minutes and spent last season out on loan at Bayer Leverkusen and Girona. He barely played at Leverkusen, his spell at Girona was slightly more successful but far from breathtaking. Nonetheless, Echeverri played well against Inter Milan, including scoring a panenka in the shootout. He'll be pushing for a first team place next season if (and it's a big if) he stays at the club. I wrote about Echeverri in our Keep, Sell, Loan article and said a permanent transfer away from the club is probably best for both parties. For him to improve, he needs first team minutes and I just can't see him getting enough at the Blues.
3. Man City's Academy is looking ever-brighter
To get anywhere near Man City's Academy, players have to be the absolute cream of the crop. There were plenty of Academy products on show against Inter Milan, including Divin Mubama who got the opener after excellent work from Antoine Semenyo down the left hand side. Max Alleyne, Mahamadou Sangare, Kaden Braithwaite and the aforementioned Ryan McAidoo also impressed in the game. Whether any of these youngsters can break into the first team squad next season is yet to be seen (McAidoo appears the most likely) but it was fantastic to see City's Academy players impressing against the Italian giants.
Man City's next preseason game is on Wednesday, taking on a K League All Stars XI. City will then end their preseason tour after taking on Atletico Madrid on Sunday. The players will then return to Manchester to prepare for the Community Shield against Arsenal on Sunday, August 16th.
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