City finish US Tour with convincing Chelsea win

An Erling Haaland hat-trick, two of which came in the opening five minutes, and Oscar Bobb strike earned Pep Guardiola’s men a deserved victory in our final friendly ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

Former City man Raheem Sterling pulled one back for Chelsea before the hour and Noni Madueke added a second late on, but it did little to dampen what was a convincing display from Pep Guardiola’s men.

With Stefan Ortega Moreno making two impressive saves and James McAtee hitting the post, there could have been more goals at the Ohio Stadium, but a 4-2 triumph sets City up nicely for next Saturday’s Community Shield final against Manchester United.

What happened

A frantic start to proceedings set the tone for a memorable final clash in the USA, with a Chelsea mistake presenting City with a golden opportunity for the opener.

It came when Levi Colwill brought down Haaland inside the area after a loose pass and, despite the Norwegian having to retake the spot kick, he made no mistake with his second attempt to hand us an early lead.

Things got even better just seconds later, when Haaland doubled his tally in bizarre circumstances.

From the restart, Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo miscued his pass back to Tosin Adarabioyo which was cut out by the Norwegian, who confidently slotted home with his right foot to make it two inside five minutes.

It was a dream start for City, with Jack Grealish then stinging the palms of Robert Sanchez midway through the half, but the next big chance fell the Londoners’ way.

Enzo Fernandez spotted Christopher Nkunku’s clever run in behind, allowing the France international to race in one on one with Ortega Moreno.

But the City stopper would come out on top, making a smart save with his feet at the near post.

Nkunku would go close again as half-time approached, curling a dangerous effort just wide of the far corner, with Haaland firing just off target soon after following excellent work from McAtee following a short corner routine.

As half-time approached Chelsea wasted another gilt-edged opportunity to halve the deficit, with Fernandez firing wide from 30 yards after being presented with an empty net after a miscued Ortega Moreno clearance.

But City would put the game to bed before the hour mark with another quickfire double, the first coming from Bobb.

After Sterling’s loose pass was intercepted by McAtee, the midfielder released the Norwegian down the right, who cut inside on his left before disguising an effort in at the near post.

In a carbon copy of the first half, City added another from the next passage of play, McAtee once again grabbing an assist as he fed Haaland to complete his hat-trick with a typically clinical finish.

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A captivating second 45 continued to deliver, this time with Chelsea pulling a goal back through Sterling who volleyed home after ghosting in at the back post, before fellow substitute Marc Guiu fired wide from a promising position.

McAtee’s impressive display continued when he turned Reece James inside out, before firing against the near post from a tight angle.

At the other end, Ortega Moreno made yet another excellent save to deny an almost certain goal when Madueke picked up a loose ball in the City box.

But the Chelsea sub would eventually get his name on the scoresheet when he added a second for the Londoners with a clinical low finish with his left foot under Scott Carson who had been introduced late on.

Player of the Match: James McAtee

There were several impressive displays for City, but the Academy graduate’s work-rate and drive both in and out of possession makes him the standout.

Two assists underpinned the quality and confidence he’s playing with at the moment, and he was unlucky that his effort against the post didn’t sneak in for a fifth.

It would’ve been just rewards for the 21-year-old, who was a constant thorn in Chelsea’s side.

How we lined up

Ortega Moreno’s goal was shielded by a back four of Lewis, Phillips, Gvardiol and Wilson-Esbrand.

Kovacic lined up in front of them in defensive midfield, with McAtee and O’Reilly completing the midfield three.

Bobb and Grealish once again started out wide, with Haaland at centre-forward.

City XI: Ortega Moreno (Carson 80’), Lewis (Susoho 70’), Phillips (Mfuni 87’), Gvardiol Doyle 87’), Wilson-Esbrand (Galvez 46’), Kovacic (Wright 80’), McAtee (Perrone 80’), O’Reilly (Samuel 87’), Bobb (Fatah 70’), Grealish (Ndala 70’), Haaland (C) (Oboavwoduo 80’).

Subs: Ederson, Simpson Pusey, Katongo, Mbete, Heskey, Hamilton, Knight.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, James (C), Tosin (Badashile 59’), Colwill, Gusto, Lavia, Caicedo (Sterling 46’), Enzo (Guiu 59’), Dewsbury-Hall, Nkunku, Mudryk (Madueke 46’).

Subs: Bettinelli, Jorgensen, Veiga, Acheampong, Chilwell, Fofana, Ugochukwu, Chukwuemeka, George, Angelo, Broja.

Up next

City’s first competitive fixture of 2024/25 sees us face Manchester United in the Community Shield final.

Kick-off is at 15:00 (UK) at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 10 August.

As always, you can keep across all the action in the first Manchester derby of the season over on the official Man City app.

To get it downloaded, click here.

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