Rodri cover, Cherki, Wolves spot - things noticed from Man City friendly win in Palermo

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Manchester City beat Palermo 2-0 in their final pre-season friendly and Pep Guardiola has plenty to think about before Wolves

Simon Bajkowski

Simon is the MEN's chief Manchester City writer. He joined the MEN sport desk in 2013 and has covered City home and away since 2016, reporting on Pep Guardiola's time at the club.

Tijjani Reijnders scored twice
Tijjani Reijnders scored twice

Manchester City are the inaugural winners of the Anglo-Palermitan Trophy and nobody else will ever be able to sing that. Given how long it took this game to start, that's probably for the best.

When the action did get under way, City took their time to settle against their Serie B opposition who were welcoming new coach Filippo Inzaghi to their majestic stadium for the first time. Erling Haaland opened the scoring with a cool right-footed finish after being fed by Rico Lewis.

Pep Guardiola made 10 changes at half-time and Tijjani Reijnders scored twice to give the Blues a comfortable win. Here are some of the things noticed on a sweltering evening at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.

Rodri cover

Let's start with the biggest show in town - how is City's Rodri cover looking? In Sicily, it took the shape of Nico Gonzalez with some help from Nico O'Reilly.

Is double Nico the answer? They will both have to play better if this is to be the case.

O'Reilly was the main culprit, too often wasteful on the ball to leave City chasing their tails. Gonzalez was better but not to the point that there would be confidence in him starting there at Wolves even if he is the best option.

Ilkay Gundogan came on to play that role in the second half - one he doesn't particularly enjoy but keeps being asked to play.

Unlikely Wolves starter

Goals and assists were badly missing from City's season last year, with nobody really stepping up to provide any kind of support for Haaland. The Blues have tried to rectify that in the transfer market but Guardiola also needs his current starts to step up.

In their last two friendlies, Rico Lewis has a goal and an assist and looked good again in addition to setting up Haaland for the opener. It feels like Lewis has earned a starting spot at Wolves, a ground that Matheus Nunes does not enjoy returning to.

There probably wouldn't have been many City fans at the end of last season who would have picked Lewis as their starting right-back for the opening day, but he currently looks the best option.

Reijnders may also have played his way into the team, not only for scoring the second and third goals after coming on at half-time but for more box-crashing activities that made him carry a threat that few others did.

Stones steps forward

It's been six months since John Stones last played for City, and that gap has inevitably led to questions over his future at the club. There's no point him being so good when fit if he can't stay fit.

Stones is determined to prove any doubters wrong and displayed the silk and smoothness that his game oozes as he effortlessly turned defence into attack for City. It is going to take far more than one game but if Stones can stay fit it would make a huge difference to City's season.

Cherki focus

Rayan Cherki only played the first 45 minutes but made sure to cram as much time on the ball into that as he could. Not everything came off for the Frenchman, but he never stopped trying to be the playmaker of the team and break the Palermo defence.

There was some neat work with Lewis and Oscar Bobb on the right and his pass to Lewis played a part in the first goal. As Phil Foden looks to get fit for Wolves after taking a knock, he will face competition from Cherki as well as Reijnders for a place.

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