Guardiola stays upbeat, despite Dortmund defeat
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was happy with his side’s display against Borussia Dortmund, despite the 1-0 defeat in Chicago.
Mario Gotze scored the only goal of the pre-season clash from the penalty spot after Oleks Zinchenko had brought down Christian Pulisic.
The majority of Guardiola’s squad are on breaks after their World Cup exploits but new signing Riyad Mahrez made his first appearance for the club against the Germans in a youthful line-up.
Guardiola said: “We did many good things. It is really good for the future.
“We played against one of the best teams in Germany and we did many good things.
“We spoke in the week about courage, intensity and a desire to play.
“The players did very well and I am so satisfied with the performance of these guys.”
Goalkeeper Joe Hart, whose future remains up in the air, was given a run out in the second half by Guardiola, as was winger Leroy Sane, who was surprisingly left out of Germany’s World Cup squad.
Guardiola, quoted on the club’ s Twitter account, said of Hart: “We have four goalkeepers, today we decided to use Claudio Bravo and Joe Hart.
“What Joe has done in the past 12 years is undeniable and we know his quality.”
And the Spaniard said the aim with Sane is to get him fit, adding: “Leroy Sane arrived two days ago. We needed some minutes to start and put his head on the field and fight and run.
“He was ready to play 15- 20 minutes but no more than that.
“All the players did very good things. We of course prepared to win but it’s normal not to win games in this part of the season – it just prepares the team. They are coming back, step by step.”
In the other match in the International Champions Cup, Bayern Munich beat PSG 3-1.
Gianluigi Buffon was in goal for the French side, but both teams were minus their world Cup stars.
■ Watford midfielder Tom Cleverley will miss the early weeks of the new Premier League season after undergoing an Achilles operation.
The 28- year-old is beginning a rehabilitation programme at the Hornets’ training ground and is targeting an autumn return to action, having gone under the knife to fix the longstanding issue.
“This is something I’ve put up with during my career, so it’s good to get it sorted,” Cleverley told the club’s website.
“I had been used to playing with pain in my ankle. Now that’s going to be a thing of the past, I’ll be fit and raring to win my place back once I’ve finished my rehab.”
The ex- Manchester United trainee joined Watford last summer, after an initial loan spell, having failed to establish himself at Everton.