Erling Haaland – albeit not without any reservations – has described City’s 4-2 win over Chelsea as a ‘good finish’ to their pre-season tour of the United States.
The Norwegian dynamo was in fiery form in seizing a hat-trick as Pep Guardiola’s men rounded off preparations for the 2024/25 campaign with a convincing win in Columbus, Ohio.
City’s youthful squad comprising predominantly Academy players thrown in for the experience had been edged out by Celtic, AC Milan and Barcelona in their first three fixtures, but still managed to build on positive performances in each of those fixtures to deservedly grab the win against Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea side.
For Haaland, it’s a result which he is hoping to build on in the early stages when the 2024/25 campaign kicks off.
He said: “It’s been a long tour but a good finish and now back to Manchester to meet all the other guys and continue.
“The quality is high [with the Academy players], you see it in the games. Of course, small margins made us lose the games but in general the quality has been high, and it’s been good.
“It’s not perfect [my condition] but it’s getting better and we’ll soon all be in top form which is good.
“We have to get into rhythm, and we will, keep on doing what we’ve been doing.”