On Sunday, Manchester City paraded their three trophies in Tokyo and, after making a sloppy start against Yokohama F Marinos, soon rallied to leave with an emphatic 5-3 win. Erling Haaland got back among the goals with two strikes while Rodri, the hero of Istanbul, showed his appetite for scoring has not been sated as he landed a beautiful long-range effort.
After having just four training sessions since completing the Champions League final in Istanbul and some of their players (yes, we’re looking at you Jack Grealish) having the mother of all parties, it was not bad for their first pre-season outing.
But as they prepare to defend their treble and plot a record-breaking fourth consecutive English league title, City are going through a summer of upheaval. They have waved goodbye to Ilkay Gundogan while Riyad Mahrez is on his way to Saudi Arabia, leaving them without two of their most reliable attacking players of the Pep Guardiola era. And two more pillars of that sustained success could also be on their way, as Bernardo Silva and Kyle Walker consider their futures.
Only Mateo Kovacic has arrived so far and the club are still yet to agree a deal for Josko Gvardiol. Meanwhile, all of City’s rivals are strengthening. Guardiola’s side have been the dominant force in English football for the last six years, but that status is under threat and the Catalan coach faces a huge rebuilding task to preserve it.