Kovacic arrived from Chelsea in June on a four-year deal and played in sky blue for the first time in the 5-3 win over Yokohama F. Marinos.
Guardiola described his performance as ‘really good’ and will now look to integrate him even more as we prepare for our second pre-season game on Wednesday against Bayern Munich.
On his debut, the boss said: “Really good.
“He is an exceptional player, we know it.
“It’s just the first game. He has to know us and what we want.
“But really, really good.”
Guardiola was also impressed by the performance of Oscar Bobb, the EDS star who has made the trip to Japan and Korea with the aim of catching the eye of the manager.
The Catalan has watched the midfielder’s progress closely this past season as our Under-21s achieved a ‘treble treble’ – winning the title for a third season running.
He believes Bobb has good examples in the likes of Phil Foden and Rico Lewis as he looks to make the move up to first team level.
HOW TO FOLLOW CITY’S 2023 ASIA TOUR
He added: “Oscar made an incredible season for the second team of Man City.
“He played unbelievable. He played three or four positions well. We count on him a lot.
“First Phil, Cole Palmer, Rico, McAtee - and now Oscar has a good perspective.”
Watch the manager’s press conference in the video player above.
WATCH OUR ASIA TOUR MATCHES ON CITY+ OR RECAST
CITY+ and Recast will exclusively show all pre-season tour games live in the UK.
After today’s meeting with Yokohama F. Marinos, fans in the UK and Germany can look forward to our Bayern Munich clash on 26 July.
We face Atletico Madrid on 30 July, with fans all over the world (except South Korea) able to watch the action.
CITY+ is also where you will find the entire catalogue of City Studios documentaries and vodcasts.
Watchable through our official website or app*, CITY+ is available via an annual subscription of £34.99 a year, saving you £24 on our monthly offering.
Choose monthly and pay £4.99 a month with the option to cancel anytime.
Official Cityzens and Season Ticket Members can subscribe annually for £30 a year, a saving of £29.
Alternatively, you can join us on Recast for a flexible, pay-per-view option on all the same exciting content found on CITY+.
Simply follow our official channel and pay for the matches, documentaries, full-match replays and vodcasts you want to see.
*Tour matches will not be available to watch on our TV app due to regional restrictions
