In a pre-season clash, Erling Haaland captained Manchester City for the first time in their 4-3 defeat to Celtic. Manager Pep Guardiola fielded a mix of youth and experience, including six academy graduates alongside stars like Kalvin Phillips and Jack Grealish.
Celtic took an early lead through Nicolas Kuhn, but City’s Oscar Bobb equalized in the 33rd minute. Celtic quickly responded, going into halftime 3-1 up with Kuhn’s second goal and a strike from Kyogo Furuhashi.
City showed resilience in the second half. Maximo Perrone scored just after the restart, and Haaland, denied earlier by Celtic’s new goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, netted the equalizer with a header from Bobb’s cross before the hour mark.
However, Celtic’s Luis Palma, a recent substitute, scored the decisive goal in the 68th minute on a counter-attack. Celtic will continue their US tour against Chelsea on Saturday, while City faces AC Milan in New York.
