Kovacic makes Man City debut as Haaland bags a brace

Mateo Kovacic made his Manchester City debut and Erling Haaland scored twice as Pep Guardiola's side began their pre-season with a 5-3 win over Yokohama F Marinos in Tokyo.

Kovacic started for City on the left of a three-man midfield that also featured James McAtee and Kalvin Phillips.

Meanwhile, Haaland came on at half-time and scored within seven minutes, before netting his second in stoppage time.

City had fallen two goals behind, but quickfire strikes from John Stones and Julian Alvarez put City level at the break.

Pick City stars in your 2023/24 FPL squad

Rodri curled in superbly to score City's fourth either side of Haaland's double.

Kevin De Bruyne was an unused substitute as he continues to build up his fitness following the hamstring injury that forced him off in the UEFA Champions League final last month.

Guardiola introduced Joao Cancelo at half-time, with the defender back in the fold after spending the second half of last season on loan at Bayern Munich.

City's next pre-season match is against the German side, who have been linked with a move for Kyle Walker, in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Man City: Ortega Moreno, Walker (Cancelo 46), Stones (Dias 46), Akanji (Laporte 46), Ake (Lewis 46), Phillips (Rodrigo 46), Kovacic (Foden 46), McAtee (Bernardo 46, Perrone 75), Palmer (Bobb 46), Grealish (Gomez 46), Alvarez (Haaland 46)

Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur's match against Leicester City in Bangkok was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch and adverse weather conditions.

Next up in the Summer Series

There is a Philadelphia double-header of matches on Sunday as Fulham take on west London rivals Brentford before European hopefuls Newcastle United and Aston Villa lock horns.

Both matches could see new signings feature, with Mark Flekken and Nathan Collins named in Brentford's squad, while Newcastle v Villa could feature the likes of Sandro Tonali, Youri Tielemans, and Pau Torres.

See: All Premier League clubs' pre-season fixtures and results