Pep Guardiola’s men came back from 3-1 down at half-time to level 3-3 after the break before eventually going down to a Luis Palma goal.
Regular Matchday Live guest Howey, who spent three seasons at City in the early 2000s before retiring in 2010, believes the boss will be happy to get the players back on the pitch as the journey to the start of the 2024/25 season begins.
“I think the manager will be happy with that,” said Howey as he called the action in our studio.
“The main aim was to get a good workout and no injuries. It didn’t look like anyone had injuries.
“Yes, the lads will be a little bit sore and stiff the next day but that’s part and parcel of pre-season.
“The second half, I thought, was decent. The boys came out and imposed themselves a little bit more and ultimately got it back to 3-3. It was unfortunate with their fourth goal but, overall, I think the manager will definitely get some positives out of that.”
Howey also pointed to the teams being at different stages in their pre-season programme as they met at Kenan Stadium in North Carolina.
Brendan Rodgers’s men are all set for the Scottish Premiership season beginning on Sunday 4 August at home to Kilmarnock in just over a week – while City still have close to a month before we travel to Chelsea for our top-flight opener at Stamford Bridge on Sunday 18 August.
“You could tell there was a difference,” the former City defender added.
“Even if you play a National League team, if they’ve three or four weeks ahead of you, they’re going to be fitter, they’re going to be that little bit sharper.
“But when you play against a top team like Celtic – and let’s be honest, Celtic are a top team, you could see the movement, the passing, the shutting down, the intensity of them seemed that little bit more.
“I think when you look at their team, it’s probably the team that will start the season and that’s just 10 days away so they’re pretty much there for the start of the season.
“In the first game of pre-season, there’s that little bit of rust. We know the manager. We know he’s a perfectionist but ultimately I think he will very pleased with that.”
USA TOUR 2024
City are still to face AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea during the Club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
As always, mancity.com and the official app are the best places to keep across all things City during our time in the US.
Including pre-match press conferences and live open training as well as detailed and varied in-game and post-friendly coverage of all our fixtures, our website and app provide fans with a complete City experience, all from one handy place.
All US Tour matches will be broadcast live on CITY+ in the following countries: United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and United Arab Emirates.
For Saturday’s clash with AC Milan, the following countries will also have access to the broadcast if purchasing CITY+ via the Man City App on iOS only: Albania, Cambodia, Georgia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Uzbekistan.
To access these matches from one of the locations listed above, you will need an active CITY+ subscription. Those same restrictions will apply to full-match replays and Pitcam highlights.
For fans living outside of the countries named, we will have a full explainer article on how to tune in coming in due course.
Subscribers will be able to watch on the official app and mancity.com, with the option to cast matches onto their TV from mobile devices. Find out how to do this via our handy guide here.
For more information on CITY+, including subscription prices, click here.
