Goals in either half from Riyad Mahrez and Sam Edozie were enough to hand a youthful City a hard-fought and deserved 2-0 triumph at the Academy Stadium.
After an evenly-matched opening 25 minutes, Mahrez curled an inch-perfect free-kick beyond the despairing dive of Connor Ripley, to hand Pep Guardiola‘s men a half-time advantage.
City’s lead was doubled just after the hour when James McAtee and Edozie combined exquisitely to release the latter on the left of the Preston area, with the 18-year-old making no mistake with a convincing near-post finish.
An otherwise perfect day at the office was slightly soured by a serious looking injury to young goalkeeper Cieran Slicker who, after colliding with Preston forward Tom Bayliss, was forced off on a stretcher with around 15 to play.
Despite the setback, it was a pleasing performance from City on the whole, who will take plenty of confidence into Saturday’s pre-season fixture against Barnsley.
Enjoy every kick of our clash with the Lilywhites, available on CITY+.
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