Pep Guardiola felt Manchester City’s tour of Asia ended in “perfect” fashion as the Premier League champions overcame sister club Yokohama F Marinos. The two-week trip to the Far East may have had a troubled start with City’s initial flight to China being delayed by two days, but Guardiola was pleased with how things finished in Japan.
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City ran out 3-1 winners in front of a lively crowd of 65,052 at the Nissan Stadium after a strong test both from their J-League opponents and the hot and humid conditions. City now fly straight home to continue preparations for next Sunday’s Community Shield against Liverpool and their Premier League opener at West Ham the following week.
“The game was incredibly tough and it was an incredible test for preparing, not just for Liverpool, but the beginning of the season,” said Guardiola, who cut a tired figure at his post-match press conference. “It was perfect for us to play this kind of game because if you don’t do what you have to do they have incredible quality and they took a lot of risks. They played so quick and so good and we were in real trouble.”
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