Manchester City Beat Dortmund to End a Problematic Pre-Season Tour on a High

It’s been a testing pre-season tour for Manchester City. They travelled to China to try to capitalise on commercial opportunities. It’s a huge, untapped football market that no European club has really managed to seize control of.

City want to close the financial gap between themselves and the game's elite clubs, and they see China as key to that endeavour.

They signed an agreement with China Media Capital (CMC) in December, selling a 13 per cent stake in the City Football Group in return for £265 million. The money was inconsequential, more a token gesture than anything more meaningful, with CMC’s expertise and ability to maximise City’s media exposure in the region of far greater value.

They followed that with another partnership, this time with Chinese company Zhong An Holdings, who have helped City broker a deal with China’s Ministry of Education—allowing them to get involved with coaching young players across the country—and guided City in their search for commercial partners and media opportunities.

There’s a clear strategy to make an assault on the Chinese market. There are a billion people in China, and their domestic league is in its fledgling stage.

There’s a thirst among the Chinese people for football that perhaps isn’t being quenched, and City want to step in and take a share of the market.

Their tour, which has taken them to Beijing and Shenzhen, has been a success commercially. They’ve held numerous events engaging with local fans. There has been plenty of media coverage and billboards in the streets.

City’s name has been visible, and that’s guaranteed to have a significant effect.

It’s an understandable policy. Money is crucial in football, and even City—a side self-sustainable and in receipt of the Premier League’s riches—need to maximise their commercial opportunities.

Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona remain someway ahead of City in terms of their value and revenue, and Ferran Soriano, the club’s chief executive, is charged with closing the gap.

However, from a football perspective, it’s been mired in difficulty. Temperatures have consistently nudged 40 degrees, training has lacked the usual intensity, one of the two scheduled games was cancelled due to the poor state of the pitch and the travelling involved is far from ideal ahead of a gruelling campaign that will see City attempt to win four competitions.

Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

City are just 16 days away from their Premier League opener at home to Sunderland, and they have played two warm-up matches. They will now hastily look to arrange an additional friendly when they return to England, but there can be little doubt things haven’t quite gone to plan.

The players, who are mobbed wherever they go in China, will be pleased at the club’s decision to return to the U.S. this time next year in more favourable surroundings.

There were plenty of positives from their game against Borussia Dortmund in Shenzhen, though.

City, once again, played a young side—and once again showed that Pep Guardiola’s methods are being quickly received. They are playing from the back, pressing high, looking to control the tempo of the game and going forward whenever possible. They are nowhere near the level Guardiola ideally wants, but there are clear signs of progress.

They drew 1-1 with Dortmund before winning the game on penalties. The result is largely inconsequential, but it will do no harm to the confidence of the youngsters Guardiola has placed faith in so far during pre-season.

Angus Gunn was the hero, making three penalty saves in the shootout that won City the game in a display that had echoes of Willy Caballero’s performance in the Capital One Cup final back in March. Gunn, a mature, confident young man, continues to develop. A loan move this season could be in the offing in order to continue his progression, but City have in their midst a 20-year-old with plenty of potential.

City’s goal, which so nearly saw them win the game in 90 minutes, was scored by Sergio Aguero—a tap-in he couldn’t miss. However, the quality of the buildup was remarkable: quick, incisive passing, superb vision from David Silva to register the assist—it was the archetypal Guardiola goal.

Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

But it was Tosin Adarabioyo who stole the show.

The Mancunian, part of City’s academy setup since the age of nine, was superb at centre-back. He played the full 90 minutes and displayed his wonderful ability to read the game.

Positional sense and anticipation are usually assets that develop later in a defender’s career. Adarabioyo, so comfortable in possession, appears to be more developed in terms of his understanding of the game than most 18-year-olds—and his emphatic penalty in the shootout underlined his growing assuredness.

What kind of impact he can have this season at the first-team level remains to be seen. Young players have dips in form, particularly at centre-back where experience is so vital.

But his display in Shenzhen has done his chances no harm. City need defensive reinforcements, and he could offer a solution.

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After lots of good training together in China, it was great to play in front of our fans here 🇨🇳 🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/JrlJzajqQE

— Yaya Touré (@YayaToure) July 28, 2016"

Fernandinho, who captained the side, excelled as usual—and Oleksandr Zinchenko continues to impress with his technique and vision. We’ve seen enough of the 19-year-old Ukrainian already to know he was a bargain at £1.7 million. Aleix Garcia, too, looked accomplished during his cameo.

What is also blatantly obvious is the feeling of optimism that has resurfaced since Guardiola’s arrival.

He talks positively—about the task he faces and the way the players are adapting. City wanted the finest manager in the game and worked for more than three years to land him, and his appointment is already having a galvanising effect.

"I want the fans to know that they can be proud of these players—every one of them. Every session they try, to learn and they fight,” he said in his post-match press conference. 

"Pre-season is pre-season. I would like to have more time with the players from the beginning. I would like more friendlies but the schedule is the schedule. We have to adapt. That is what it is—as soon as possible we'll adjust and work on what we want to do and do it.

"Tonight we played one of the best teams in Europe—they are so, so strong. They are one of the best teams and that's why I'm so happy with what we did. there are things to improve but we need time. I said at  the start the beginning will be tough, to create something new. We have the UEFA Champions League qualifier which is the most important game for our season and I know we're not going to be at the level we will be at in February, March, April but we are going to adapt."

The next 16 days are crucial. City face Arsenal in Gothenburg, Sweden, the week before the season starts, and the intensity of the training sessions is likely to increase when they return to a more manageable climate.

It's all about fine-tuning and ensuring the players line up against Sunderland in the best possible shape, both physically and tactically.

The pressure on Guardiola to succeed and evolve City's style of play is huge. The early signs are good, despite a pre-season tour that came with significant difficulties.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and follows the club from a Manchester base. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.