Gareth Taylor's side didn't score against Leicester or PSG in Perth, but there was still reason for fans to be excited before the new season
After both Arsenal and Chelsea concluded their pre-season tours of the United States last weekend, this week we got a good look at the third team expected to compete for the Women's Super League title in the coming campaign as Manchester City, last season's runners-up, travelled to Australia for the Perth International Football Cup.
There is plenty of excitement and intrigue around the Cityzens this year, not least due to the marquee summer signing of Vivianne Miedema after her departure from Arsenal. But the club has completed other strong bits of business too, with Japan wonderkid Aoba Fujino also reinforcing that attack while international team-mate Ayaka Yamashita has bolstered the goalkeeping department.
Despite the forward line being more than well-stocked, a goalless draw with Leicester and a 1-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain didn't give the fans the thrills and excitement anticipated. Still, there was plenty for City to take away from this trip, and there are still a few weeks left for them to fine-tune everything as well.
So, what did we learn from the Cityzens' time Down Under? GOAL highlights five key things…
Manchester City FCIt'll be Miedema AND Shaw
There was only a glimpse of Miedema in her new colours on this pre-season tour, but it was an exciting one. The Dutch star had a second knee surgery earlier this year after a devastating ACL rupture and is still getting back up to full speed, and yet she was a delight off the bench in City's first game of the week, hitting the crossbar before being denied what looked a certain penalty in a bright cameo against Leicester.
Most notably, those positive signs came with Miedema playing as a No.10, behind Khadija Shaw. The former Arsenal forward has often described herself as a 9.5, rather than a No.9 or a No.10, because of the way she can drop deep and create as well as being one of the deadliest strikers on the planet. Given Shaw's world-class quality at the top of the pitch, it always felt likely that Miedema would lean more into that No.10 position in this team, and that was the suggestion from her first appearance for City, too.
Again, Miedema is still working back to her best after some fitness trouble and so it might take time before she is starting every game alongside Shaw, but when the pair take to the pitch together, they will present an intriguingly different dual threat that will take some stopping.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesAttack to be more unpredictable
That potential Shaw-Miedema duo is not the only reason for City fans to be excited by what their attack may look like this season, either. It feels strange to big up the forward areas of this team after a goalless pre-season tour, but Gareth Taylor's side were lively and dangerous in Australia, even if the goals didn't flow. There's still time for them to build, too, and they have plenty to build with.
Part of what makes the Cityzens so exciting in attack is the variety of options available now, following the summer arrivals of Miedema and Japan starlet Fujino, as well as some promising signs from January signing Laura Blindkilde Brown. Add those names to Shaw, Chloe Kelly, Lauren Hemp, Mary Fowler and Jess Park, and defenders have reason to be worried.
This depth will surely mean Taylor's team selection varies a lot more this season. Last year, he didn't rotate much, starting a front three of Kelly, Shaw and Hemp almost exclusively through the middle of the campaign, before Fowler usurped Kelly on the right in the latter months. It feels unlikely that things will be the same this time around, with competition for places fierce and the club hoping to qualify for the Champions League group stages, which would add a need for rotation.
The versatility of most of City's forwards only increases the variety of combinations Taylor can work with, making his side an especially dangerous proposition.
Getty ImagesReplacement options emerge
Pre-season is about getting minutes in the players' legs, building team cohesion and working on new relationships after the arrivals of new signings. It can also be a testing ground for solutions to potential problems, and Taylor certainly tapped into that in Australia.
City have a lot of depth in their squad, of course, but there are still some players that are near-impossible to replace. One is centre-back Alex Greenwood, another is holding midfielder Yui Hasegawa and the third is Shaw, whose absence due to injury was absolutely felt in the title run-in last season.
On this tour, then, Taylor experimented without them. He took Greenwood off at half-time in both games, testing out his other centre-back options and how they fared without her; he trialled both Blindkilde Brown and Laia Aleixandri in Hasegawa's role, one neither plays often but both showed good signs in; and he gave young Poppy Pritchard a big opportunity in the No.9 role, with her perhaps a particularly interesting option to get game time there when Shaw needs a rest.
If opportunities arise to rest any of this trio throughout the season, it'd be wise for Taylor to take them and after a bit of rotation in Australia, he might've found a new option or two to help protect City's key stars.
Manchester City FCYamashita can be a fantastic back-up
Yamashita was superb for City on this tour. She made some terrific saves against Leicester, was the penalty shootout hero at the end of that game and then showcased the quality of her distribution in a quieter 45 minutes against PSG on Sunday.
It must be said, it feels highly unlikely that the new signing manages to displace Khiara Keating, the 20-year-old who established herself as City's No.1 last season with a remarkably good campaign. Keating is ready to play now, she's incredibly talented and she's only going to get better through more and more game time, so it would be counter-productive to take that starting role away from her.
However, the club needed to reinforce the goalkeeping department this summer after Ellie Roebuck left for Barcelona and Sandy MacIver ruptured her ACL in April – and they have done so brilliantly by bringing in Yamashita. She's an incredibly good player who will be able to step in at any time to play if something was to happen to Keating, and she'll also be a valuable team-mate to the young goalkeeper given her experience.
That said, having seen Yamashita's performances in Australia, Keating will know she can't let her level drop, either, and that if she is not on her 'A' game, Taylor has a fantastic option to replace her with.