Manchester City

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Pep Guardiola is taking the positives from Manchester City's pre-season friendly with Barcelona. City drew the game 2-2 in normal time before losing on penalties. but lost 4-1 on penalties.

Jack Grealish was among the goalscorers for City and again impressed with his end product.

"He was aggressive," said Guardiola. "I know in controlling the ball he is good, but he made four or five shots.

"This is what it is - he has to prove himself, but I am really pleased with the game he played."

Grealish, who recently revealed being left out of England's Euro 2024 was the "most difficult thing I have had to deal with in my career," said he was "happy with the way I played" in the Barcelona match.

"I said the other day, I want to come here and show I'm back fit and playing with the confidence I know I can have," he added.

"Obviously I want to score more goals, get more assists and help the team like anyone does - I'll take on what the manager says and hopefully moving forward I can do that."

Guardiola also praised his squad's performance, reserving special note for the youngsters who have acquitted themselves well on this tour.

"Every game we are getting better - our condition is getting better," the City boss said. "Rico [Lewis] again, thank you so much, Oscar [Bobb], Nico [O'Reilly]... all."

On 19-year-old O'Reilly specifically, Guardiola said: "He had a long injury last season and he came back in the middle and trained with us and I said 'wow this guy has good things.'

"He's a good leader, so strong in the duel and small spaces good. In attacking midfield, he arrives well and when holding he can too. I'm pretty sure he can play within a role as holding midfielder."

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Players like Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund are already suffering from hamstring injuries two weeks before the season even starts - and they say the modern preparation regimes are better, safer and more scientific!

They probably are better. At least the players do not have to go through some of the borderline sadistic routines that previous generations did. Back then, after a decent length of summer break, pre-season meant working incredibly hard over a short period of time to get yourself back in top condition fast.

Sprinting up and down gigantic sand dunes against the clock until many players were physically sick was de rigueur, alongside other road runs and track work.

Here is the weird part: I used to look forward to that, the way a class swot looks forward to exams. Being smaller, lighter and a committed long-distance runner all my young life, even before I became a pro footballer, it was, if not exactly a piece of cake, then certainly much easier for me than most of the rest of the team.

I have asked many modern managers what they would prefer to do in a perfect world during their pre-season. The most common answer is "just about anything other than what we are forced to do now!"

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Manchester City played out a 2-2 draw with Barcelona in Orlando overnight, but were beaten 4-1 on penalties after normal time.

Pep Guardiola's side came from behind twice in the pre-season friendly thanks to goals from Nico O'Reilly and Jack Grealish.

What did you learn from this game, City fans?

Let us know your thoughts on the match here, external

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Manchester City have lost friendlies against Celtic and AC Milan during their tour of the United States, but one huge positive has been the performances of Oscar Bobb.

The Norway forward, 21, scored against the Scottish champions and set up Erling Haaland's goal in the loss to Milan.

"The standout performer in pre-season by a mile is Oscar Bobb," said Natalie Pike on BBC Radio Manchester's We're Not Really Here podcast.

"He's scored, he's created, he looks like an absolute standout and this could be the breakout moment for Oscar Bobb."

Fellow presenter Mike Minay added: "He's looking sharp, he's looking good.

"He's fluid as he can play on the left, in the middle and on the right - which is what Pep Guardiola likes. The right-hand side, where he played a lot last season, now they've bought Savinho, is kind of filled."

But Pike countered: "The thing Oscar has over Savinho right now is he seems to have a good connection with Erling Haaland. There is going to be some exciting competition."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

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This is a big season for Oscar Bobb. More specifically, he needs a good start to the season.

With Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva and new signing Savinho only joining pre-season preparations when Manchester City return from their tour of the United States next week, the 21-year-old Norway international is likely to start the Community Shield against Manchester United and the Premier League opener away at Chelsea.

He has been City's standout performer so far in the US, scoring and assisting twice against Celtic before setting up Erling Haaland with a fine individual run and cross against AC Milan.

With the benefit of a full pre-season behind him after Norway failed to qualify for Euro 2024, and the momentum of individual brilliance stateside, Bobb must hit the ground running when the Premier League begins again.

Last year was Bobb's breakthrough, but it was a breakthrough of moments rather than a Cole Palmer style tearing up of the league. Fellow City youth product Palmer had to join Chelsea in order to start every week and both, like many under Guardiola, had to wait until they neared and passed 20 before they were afforded regular opportunities.

Bobb's stunning late winner at Newcastle in January was the perfect illustration of his calmness and control - and in hindsight pivotal in a title race City eventually won by two points - but is his only Premier League goal to date.

He only made his debut in September of 2023 and has still started just two league games. His only other City goal, against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League, came in one of his only five starts across Europe, the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Guardiola is a master at giving his young players game time in moderation - see Phil Foden - but Bobb is at an age where he needs to perform well if given the chance to start the season. It would help him avoid becoming a supporting cast member rather than a star in one of the most competitive squads in football history.

Nailing down a position could be key. Bobb has played off both flanks as well as centrally behind a striker but would likely feature on the right for the start of City's campaign given Jack Grealish has also had an uninterrupted pre-season.

A continuation of the link up with Haaland we have seen thus far in pre-season would do him no harm. Could Bobb's slaloming run in from the right wing and assist for the Norwegian to score against Milan potentially be a sign of things to come?

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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has reiterated that there are currently no offers on the table for Kevin de Bruyne.

But he added that the 33-year-old Belgium midfielder, who has spent nine trophy-laden seasons at the club, has earned the right to decide where he wants to play football.

It was reported earlier this month that De Bruyne had agreed personal terms with Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad,, external before Guardiola said the Belgian playmaker "isn't leaving".

“The club informed me that they didn’t have an offer. I don’t know what will happen but I want him to stay," Guardiola told the club website, external.

“He was here before I arrived. He is the eldest (longest serving) player here.

“It happened with David [Silva] for example and other players, he has the credit to decide his future himself.

“What he has done for us is massive so he can decide. The information I have now is he will stay.”

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Pat Nevin, former Chelsea, Everton and Scotland winger writing in his Football Extra newsletter:

The pre-season friendlies are in full swing and let's be straight about this, the players generally hate these games, whatever they say.

They clearly haven't had enough rest in the summer, it is a grind getting your body back into peak shape, especially if the accumulated injuries from last season haven’t been allowed to fully recover.

The games themselves are weird affairs, where you would like to win but that is nowhere near the most important thing. Fitness, integrating new players, possibly a new manager and sometimes a new system are each more important. You also know full well that it is a hotch-potch of a team selection to give players minutes. The fans, mass media and social media will read far too much into every game and every performance.

From within the team itself, there are different motivations. A young or new player being given his first chance will be racing about like an overexcited spaniel. Other experienced players will be easing themselves back into it, the primary concern in their minds is to be fit and healthy come the first weekend of the Premier League season.

‌Deep down they don't worry if they get thumped by Celtic or DC United on their US tours, nobody at Chelsea or Aston Villa will remember or care about these results in two weeks' time.

‌Unless of course you are a DC or indeed Celtic fan. The Celts just beat Chelsea and Man City. Now that is impressive pre-season form or is that just Scottish bias.

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With many of his Premier League title-winners still recovering from a busy international summer, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has given first-team chances to several younger players during the club's tour of the United States.

Although friendly games against AC Milan and Celtic were both lost by a one-goal margin, We're Not Really Here presenter Natalie Pike believes the academy prospects involved will really benefit from their opportunities.

"It's an amazing experience for them," she told the podcast from BBC Radio Manchester.

"Think about them out there experiencing the stadiums, those crowds, and to be training so closely one-on-one with Pep and his coaching staff, and training next to Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

We're Not Really Here's Mike Minay and Natalie Pike have a message for their podcast listeners.

We're Not Really Here have recorded their final episode.

In this week's show, BBC Radio Manchester Mike Minay and Natalie Pike discuss Manchester City's pre-season so far and offer a parting message for listeners.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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We asked for your views on Manchester City's 3-2 defeat by AC Milan in the United States.

Here are some of your comments:

Rhiannon: Obviously not happy with the result but the purpose of pre-season is to see which players are ready to be introduced into the first team. Bobb and McAtee should be seen more regularly next season. Hopefully we can bounce back next game and we should sell Phillips and bring in a De Bruyne replacement. We need more signings to improve our squad.

John: Oscar Bobb looking like he's ready to step up. It'd be great if McAtee could do the same.

Stiffler: I'm pretty confident we will have a good season. Haaland is looking refreshed and will score loads of goals and Bobb will surely get more minutes. The teams that have had players at the Euros might be sluggish at first but the cream always rises to the top.

John: No problem with these friendly defeats, it's all about getting minutes. Bobb extremely impressive and I like O'Reilly, Hamilton and Doyle. Ederson should have kept the score down, but he's still the best.

Aston Villa have submitted a loan offer for Manchester City's 28-year-old England midfielder Kalvin Phillips. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says it was a "step forward" for his side, despite their 3-2 defeat by AC Milan.

Erling Haaland put City in front at the Yankee Stadium when he steered in a left-foot shot from an Oscar Bobb pull-back.

Lorenzo Colombo equalised and quickly added a second for the Italian side as they went into half-time in the the lead.

James McAtee headed in for City to level the game at 2-2 before Marco Nasti scored a winner with a first-time shot from the edge of the box to give AC Milan victory.

Guardiola's side also came up short in the first game of their pre-season US tour against Celtic, but the City boss feels the Premier League champions are making progress.

"We were better than the first game and some of the players made a step forward," he said after the match.

"It was really good in general, everyone was really good against a senior Champions League team like AC Milan.

"It was a step forward, no injuries, minutes in our legs, another test and now we fly to another game in a few days."

Manchester City suffered a second defeat of their US pre-season tour as they lost 2-3 to AC Milan at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Striker Erling Haaland opened the scoring for City in the 19th minute, but Italy under-21 international Lorenzo Colombo answered for Milan in the 30th and 34th minutes to give the Serie A side a 2-1 lead at half-time.

The Premier League champions equalized in the 55th minute through 21-year-old forward James McAtee, before Marco Nasti netted the winner 12 minutes from full-time.

What did you make of the performance, City fans?

Let us know your thoughts, external

David Lockwood
BBC Sport Editorial Sustainability Lead

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Los Angeles or Chesterfield? San Diego or Salford?

The pre-season destinations of 20 Premier League clubs may be varied, but the issue remains the same - the impact of so many flights.

Half (10) of the clubs have flown to the United States for friendlies; three have travelled to the Far East and the rest are in Europe and the UK.

Manchester United's pre-season schedule see them flying almost 13,000 miles playing fixtures in Norway, Scotland, and across the US. Chelsea and Tottenham are also expected to fly in excess of 12,000 miles.

In contrast, Everton will fly the least, with just one fixture outside the UK in the Republic of Ireland.

Spurs and Newcastle also played an exhibition fixture in May - three days after the season finished - for which they both flew to Melbourne, Australia, a game Alan Shearer described as “madness”. Add in those air miles and both teams will have travelled in excess of 30,000 air miles in the close-season, equivalent to more than once around the globe, to play in non-competitive matches.

Newcastle and Spurs both have a target to be Net Zero by 2030, while Manchester United and Chelsea are in process of establishing an emissions reduction plan.

Net Zero requires the reduction and removal of all 'non-essential emissions' - so are these games essential?

Wycombe's David Wheeler is a leading sustainability campaigner in football and told BBC Sport: "These games are only necessary in the sense that the clubs want to make more money and grow their fan base".

He added: "The vast majority of players don't want to be away from their families, they don't want to be travelling around the world after a full slog of a season. They're overworked and injuries have gone through the roof, so there is a synergy between player welfare and planetary welfare."

An estimated travelling group of 30 flying 12,864 air miles business class generates around 200 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of 500,000 miles driven by an average petrol car, or the entire annual emissions for a year of 16 people in the UK.

Tottenham said it is "committed to minimising its environmental impact" in all its operations, "which will take time and effort". The club says it "ensures" all teams travel "as sustainably as possible throughout the season". It "measures, manages and reports on travel emissions" and will offsets "where possible."

Read more about the Premier League's pre-season air miles here

Manchester City see Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Jamal Musiala, 21, as a potential successor to Belgium playmaker Kevin de Bruyne, 33. (Caught Offside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Saturday's full gossip column

The Premier League season is fast approaching and clubs are continuing their pre-season preparations.

Here are the teams in action on a busy Saturday.

All times BST

Manchester City have made a concrete offer to sign 26-year-old Spain midfielder Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig. (Foot Mercato - in French), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column