Erling Haaland netted a hat-trick as Manchester City secured a 4-2 friendly victory against Chelsea in Columbus, concluding their pre-season US tour on a successful note.
The Premier League champions had previously struggled in their American matches, suffering defeats to Celtic (4-3) and Milan (3-2), and drawing 2-2 with Barcelona before losing 4-1 on penalties. However, City came out firing in this encounter, with Haaland scoring two goals within the first five minutes, leaving Chelsea stunned.
The Norwegian forward was fouled by Levi Colwill in the third minute and converted the penalty—twice, as the referee called for a retake. Just moments later, he capitalized on Moisés Caicedo’s errant pass to slot the ball into the bottom corner.
Chelsea sought to cut into the deficit before halftime, with Stefan Ortega denying Christopher Nkunku, while Enzo Fernández sent a long-range shot wide after a City error. Haaland and Jack Grealish also missed chances, and the score remained 2-0 at the break.
In the second half, Pep Guardiola’s side struck again quickly, with Oscar Bobb finishing at the near post thanks to a pass from James McAtee. Haaland rounded off his hat-trick in the 56th minute, finishing decisively with McAtee providing the assist once more.
It was a challenging day for Enzo Maresca, Guardiola’s former assistant, who had previously overseen a loss to Celtic and a draw with Wrexham in July. His team did manage to make the scoreline more palatable when Raheem Sterling volleyed home, followed by Nkunku slotting past substitute keeper Scott Carson late in the game.
Chelsea will face Real Madrid and Inter in their remaining pre-season fixtures, and Maresca will be looking for improvements before his team meets City again at Stamford Bridge on 18 August. Meanwhile, City’s next match will be in the Community Shield against Manchester United next Saturday.
Tottenham suffered a 2-1 defeat against Bayern Munich in a packed friendly in Seoul, marking their first loss of pre-season in front of 70,000 spectators.
Vincent Kompany’s Bayern side did not include Harry Kane—who is still resting after England’s Euro 2024 campaign—but they began strongly, with Serge Gnabry coming close before Gabriel Vidovic capitalized on a mistake by Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario to score just four minutes in.
Leon Goretzka, who missed out on Germany’s Euros squad, extended Bayern’s lead shortly before the hour mark. Ten minutes later, Pedro Porro scored with a powerful strike from 25 yards, but Tottenham couldn’t find an equalizer. The two teams are set to meet again in another friendly in North London next Saturday.
Postecoglou attributed the loss to the team’s recent fixtures and the extreme heat in the South Korean capital, stating, “The players were showing the effects of us working hard here for 10 days. I believe we’ll benefit greatly from this camp, but tonight we may have paid the price for it.”
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Newcastle United wrapped up their Japanese tour with a disappointing 2-0 loss to Yokohama F Marinos. The Brazilian winger Elber and midfielder Jun Amano scored in each half for the J-League club in Tokyo, while new signing Lloyd Kelly made his debut in central defense for the Magpies.
“I thought we started well but faded after conceding,” stated Newcastle manager Eddie Howe. “Of course, I’m disappointed with the result. We didn’t do enough to capitalize on our chances.”
Everton triumphed 3-0 over Preston at Deepdale, with new signings Jake O’Brien and Jesper Lindstrøm both scoring in the second half, following Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s opener from the penalty spot in the 19th minute. A concern for Dyche was a foot injury sustained by Youssef Chermiti, which is expected to sideline him for several weeks.
Ipswich secured a 1-0 victory against Hoffenheim in Austria, with midfielder Jack Taylor netting the only goal. Leicester were also in action against Bundesliga opposition, succumbing to a 1-0 defeat by Augsburg. Adam Armstrong scored the winner for Southampton, who narrowly defeated Millwall at the Den.
Danny Welbeck’s penalty sealed a 1-0 win for Brighton at QPR, while Kevin Schade found the net for Brentford in a 1-1 draw against Watford. At Elland Road, Leeds achieved a 2-1 victory over Valencia with first-half goals from Mateo Joseph and Georginio Rutter.
