Manchester City were stunned by Yokohama F. Marinos in a pre-season friendly before claiming a 5-3 win via an Erling Haaland double.
Led by Kevin Muscat, once dubbed the ‘most hated man in football’ for his rough tackles, Yokohama rushed into an early two-goal lead against the Treble winners on Sunday morning.
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City travelled to Asia for a pre-season tour this week and their first match did not go to plan.
Anderson Lopes scored the first goal of the friendly just before the half-hour mark.
Manuel Akanji was left for dead by the Brazilian, whose initial shot was saved by Stefan Ortega before collecting the ball again and slotting past with his second effort.
The second goal came from a rapid counter-attack that found Ken Matsubara in acres of space to score past the City goalkeeper.
It left Guardiola perplexed on the sideline as former Rangers, Crystal Palace and Millwall star Muscat looked on in glee.
The ex-Australia international was renowned for his full-blooded tackles and he had certainly stuck the boot into a side that had just won the treble.
However, it did not last long as City clawed it back to 2-2 before the break with goals from John Stones and Julian Alvarez.
And normal service resumed shortly after the break as Guardiola made 10 changes, including bringing Erling Haaland into the game.
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The Norwegian almost immediately got on the scoresheet to put City ahead, finishing a fluid move off with his lethal left foot.
Rodri, who scored the winning goal in the Champions League final, added a fourth.
But Yokohama weren’t finished with Kenta Inoue making it 4-3 before Haaland’s second completed the scoring.
This was the first time that City had played a match since their Champions League victory over Inter Milan last month.
And they have a packed schedule ahead of them in Asia, taking on Bayern Munich in Japan before travelling to South Korea to face Atletico Madrid.
There is then the Community Shield to compete for on August 6, where they will play Arsenal.
The Gunners are only in the competition after finishing second in the Premier League last season, with City winning both the league and FA Cup.
There is then a reunion between Guardiola and Vincent Kompany as City open their season against Burnley as they look to reclaim their title for a record consecutive fourth year.
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