Man City come from behind to win in eight-goal pre-season thriller

Yokohama F. Marinos 3-5 Manchester City: Pep Guardiola’s side come from behind to earn first pre-season win in Tokyo

  • Goals by Anderson Lopes and Ko Matsubara put Yokohama F. Marinos 2-0 up 
  • But Man City tied the game before half-time via John Stones and Julian Alvarez
  • Erling Haaland’s brace and Rodri’s curler secured City’s first pre-season victory 

Manchester City kicked off their preparations for the new season with a 5-3 win over Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos.

Pep Guardiola opted for a strong team with the likes of Jack Grealish, John Stones and Kyle Walker given starts. 

But City fell behind through Anderson Lopes’ rebound in the 27th minute before right-back Ko Matsubara doubled Yokohama F. Marinos’ lead. 

John Stones got the treble winners in touching distance in the 41st minute, finding the top corner after a lay-off from Julian Alvarez. 

The Argentine striker turned goalscorer two minutes later with a close-range finish after a horror mistake by goalkeeper Ichimori.

Manchester City beat Yokohama F. Marinos 5-3 in their first pre-season game on Sunday

From 2-0 down, goal from John Stones, Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland and Rodri saw them win

The Japanese side took a shock early lead via Anderson Lopes and Ken Matsubara in Tokyo

Guardiola made 11 changes at the break as Ruben Diaz, Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte, Rodri, Rico Lewis, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Oscar Bobb, Sergio Gomez and Erling Haaland all came into the side. 

It took Haaland just seven minutes to make an impact.

The Norwegian turned inside the box after receiving a pass from Foden before finding the bottom corner. 

Rodri, who scored the winning goal in the Champions League final last month, made it 4-2 with a curling effort from distance. 

City were caught out by a ball over the top on the 86 minute mark and it caused a mix-up between Ortega and Lewis. 

Kenta Inoue took full advantage as he swept the ball home. 

Erling Haaland restored City’s two-goal lead in the dying minutes, guiding the ball into an empty net following a superb low cross into the back post by Cancelo. 

City will continue pre-season when they take-on Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in Tokyo on Wednesday.

But England defender John Stones (right) began the comeback just before half-time in Japan

Pep Guardiola’s side ended up victorious in their first match of pre-season ahead of 2023-24

MATCH FACTS

YOKOHAMA F. MARINOS XI: Ichimori, Matsubara, Hatanaka, Eduardo, Nagato, Watanabe, Kida, Junior, Mizunuma, Lopes, Elber.

Subs: Iikura, Shirasaka, Kanijima, Saneto, Yoshio, Yamane, Kimura, Sakakibara, Uenaka, Inoue, Matheus, Miyaichi, Murakami, Sugimoto.

Scorers: Lopes 27, Matsubara 37, Inoue 86.

MANCHESTER CITY: Ortega Moreno, Walker (Cancelo 45),(Dias 45), Akanji (45), (Lewis 45), Phillips (45), Kovacic (45), McAtee (45 – Perrone 75),(Bobb 45), Grealish (Gomez 45), Alvarez (Haaland 45).

Subs: Ederson, Carson, De Bruyne.

Scorers: Stones 41, Alvarez 43, Haaland 52, 91, Rodri 72.

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