Even though City lost 4-3 to Celtic in their preseason debut in the USA, Pep Guardiola thinks he saw a lot of encouraging things from the game.

Guardiola remarks, “I saw many good things in the Celtic defeat.”

A young City squad took against the Scottish champions, who will kick off their league campaign in just over a week, with a starting lineup that was far more experienced..

Nevertheless, the Bhoys faced stiff competition at the Kenan Memorial Stadium in North Carolina thanks to goals from Man City’s Oscar Bobb, Maximo Perrone, and Erling Haaland.

Guardiola utilized 14 Academy graduates during the course of the evening, with Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb being the only two City players to play the entire ninety minutes.

Guardiola was happy with his players’ performance considering the young team he had at his disposal and how early in the season we were getting ready for 2024–2025.

In his news conference after the game, the manager said, “I saw many good things from the new and old players.”

It wasn’t easy since our back four, eight, or nine players are so inexperienced, and we have senior players up front. With so many young, talented people in one department—Oscar and Rico in particular—it can be challenging to maintain a high standard.

“A lot of what I saw was good. Although we gave them opportunities, they are excellent in terms of both speed and quality. We’ll handle it from here. You have to experience these scenarios during the preseason.

When directly questioned about Lewis’ performance, Guardiola outlined the No. 82’s exceptional qualities and reaffirmed his belief in the teenager from Bury.

“Rico is a fantastic player who can play in the pocket; perhaps this is his natural position, but our back four was empty.

“I was really happy with his performance because he is so dynamic, has excellent control, and vision.”