Match-Report: City Send Warning Ahead Of New Season As Tijjani Reijnders Was Unstoppable

Manchester City will go into the new season full of confidence after a 3-0 win over Italian side Palermo in a friendly match. 

City were the clear favourites and delivered a performance that will lift their spirits ahead of their first league game.

Palermo started the match looking like they could cause trouble for the Premier League giants. They had a few chances, taking advantage of City’s slow start in defence.

However, their failure to score cost them dearly. Erling Haaland, known for his deadly finishing, opened the scoring quickly.

The Norwegian, who captained the side, used his weaker right foot to beat the Palermo goalkeeper with a low shot after receiving a perfect pass from Rico Lewis.

The first half ended with City leading 1-0. There were many chances created, especially by City’s attacking trio of Rayan Cherki, Oscar Bobb, and Omar Marmoush, but no further goals came before the break.

As is common in friendlies, Guardiola used the opportunity to make wholesale changes. Ten players were substituted, with Ederson, Matheus Nunes, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Tijjani Reijnders, Savinho, Gündogan, Ake, and Jeremy Doku all coming on.

They replaced Lewis, Cherki, Marmoush, James Trafford, Nico González, Bobb, O’Reilly, Khusanov, Stones, and Rayan Aït-Nouri.

Meanwhile, the changes brought immediate impact. Tijjani Reijnders quickly showed why City spent big to sign him.

Controlling the midfield with confidence, he also got involved in attack. In the 59th minute, he scored his first goal for the club after a well-coordinated move with Savinho. Palermo goalkeeper Gomis could not keep out his strike.

Reijnders wasn’t done yet. Late in the game, he scored his second goal, capping off a fine performance. The assist came from youngster Divine Mukasa, who was given a chance in the match and impressed with his quality, repaying the faith of the coaching staff.

What Next For Manchester City

City will now return to Manchester to prepare for their Premier League opener against Wolverhampton next weekend.

Today, City played without some of their regular first-team players. They will hope to have a full squad ready for the new season.