Nicolas Kuhn struck a first-half double, with goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma also adding to an enjoyable night for the Scottish champions against their English counterparts.
Clearly the usual pre-season caveats apply. Man City fielded a lot of youngsters and Celtic are a step ahead in terms of fitness preparations.
Nonetheless, it was a strong performance from Brendan Rodgers’ team. They pressed well and linked together really nicely in attacking phases, with Kuhn in particular terrorising the City defence.
Guardiola had his say in a post-match media conference and highlighted the strengths of Celtic on the evening.
Pep Guardiola on Celtic victory over Man City
He said [Man City]: “We had senior players up front but in the back four we had players that are so young. So it’s difficult in one department when all of them are so young.
“Many things that I saw were nice. We created a lot of chances. We scored but we could not control the transitions well because they are so very good with the pace and quality they have.
“They had a better rhythm than us. You know that you have to live with these kinds of situations in pre-season.
“They linked really well inside, we couldn’t cover that well. It is what it is. Sometimes it can happen. I give credit to the quality of them because the effort was there.”
Brendan Rodgers was also very happy with what he witnessed from his team. The Bhoys boss enjoyed seeing his players go up against a ‘complex’ Guardiola outfit and shine.
The pre-season preparations continue in the USA this week and there’ll be more travelling for training and a match.
The Bhoys are off to Indiana to play Chelsea at Notre Dame’s famous stadium and the chance to make it three wins from three against opponents in America.
If Celtic can replicate the performance they produced against City then that’s very possible.
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