da dobrowin： Erling Haaland was back among the goals with a double in an impressive comeback win from Manchester City against Yokohama F Marinos

da bwin： Manchester City looked a little sleepy as they began their pre-season campaign, but soon burst into life and came from two goals down to blitz Yokohama F Marinos 5-3 in Tokyo with the help of a double from Erling Haaland.

In their first match since winning the Champions League final and completing the treble, City fell behind against the run of play when Anderson Lopes scored in the 27th minute. They soon found themselves another goal down when Ken Matsubara struck but Pep Guardiola's side took little time to respond.

John Stones pulled them back into contention and then Julian Alvarez equalised before half-time. Guardiola changed every outfield player during the break and Haaland needed just six minutes on the pitch to score and give City the lead.

Rodri netted a sumptuous goal to stretch the treble winners' lead but Kenta Inoue made it 4-3 by capitalising on a mix up between Rico Lewis and a rusty looking Stefan Ortega. Haaland, however, inevitably had the final word, netting a tap-in in stoppage time thanks to a wonderful cross from Joao Cancelo.

GOAL looks at what we learned during the clash at Japan National Stadium.

Getty ImagesNew season, same Haaland

Before the match Haaland posted on social media to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his first goal for City in last year's pre-season friendly against Bayern Munich in the United States. He marked this campaign's curtain raiser by scoring twice, showing that even in pre-season he is determined to get as many goals as possible.

Haaland took one touch to bring a pass under control and set himself up to smash the ball into the net to make it 3-2. The Norwegian also played his part in Rodri's goal, freeing up space for the Spaniard to run into after drawing two defenders away with a searching run in the other direction.

Haaland also had a shot saved before signing off with another goal, drifting towards the back post and making sure Cancelo spotted his run, only needing the deftest of touches to see the ball into the net.

Haaland had not netted since the 3-0 win at Everton on 14 May but he brought any suggestion of a drought to an emphatic end. It will be difficult for him to beat his astonishing tally of 51 goals in his debut campaign but on this showing you wouldn't want to rule it out.

AdvertisementGetty Kovacic slots in

City's only signing of the summer so far looked utterly at home in his new team in his 45 minutes on the pitch. The Croatian looked to release Alvarez with a through ball and although the move did not come off, it showed he is already in sync with his team-mates.

He also looked to get in on goal himself by latching on to a ball from Akanji, demonstrating intent to get forward and add to a fairly meagre goal tally with Chelsea. With Ilkay Gundogan gone, he will need to contribute his share of goals.

But most of all, Kovacic did not like a new signing at all. He performed as if he had been playing with City for years and looks like another astute signing, a snip at only £25 million ($32m).

Getty ImagesAn olive branch for Cancelo?

Cancelo had not played in City colours since the Manchester derby on January 14. The Portuguese was one of the most important players in the previous two seasons but his days at the club appeared numbered after he struggled to accept being left out of the line-up by Guardiola after the World Cup and was sent on loan to Bayern.

Reports of some particularly petulant behaviour, including wearing headphones during one of Guardiola's team talks, painted a picture of a player who did not fit into the team's ethos. So it was a surprise to see Cancelo going on the tour and being named on the substitutes' bench.

It was an even bigger surprise to see him come on at the start of the second half. He showed he can still offer a lot. The Portuguese came close to scoring from outside the area and then set up Haaland's second goal with a wonderful low cross to the Norwegian's feet.

Guardiola does not usually change his mind about players but after Bayern decided not to trigger the option to buy Cancelo permanently, there is a chance of him staying with City after all. The fact that the coach gave him 45 minutes and that Cancelo performed well suggested there might be a way back for the player. Just so long as he remembers to take his headphones off.

Getty The perils of a high line

City began the game playing with a very high defensive line, something they rarely did last season. And they were quickly reminded of the risks associated with that aggressive style as they were twice cut open by balls in behind the defence.

First, Manuel Akanji was caught out by a ball into the path of Anderson Lopes and the Brazilian took full advantage by attacking the space before beating the Swiss defender and eventually scoring the opening goal.

Then Walker was caught out of position after he had flown up the pitch to join City's attack. A superb curling pass from the left found Ken Matsubara, who hit a brilliant first-time effort past a stunned Stefan Ortega.

City's success last season had a lot to do with them embracing old school defending, and after being burned twice in quick succession by reverting to their previous way of playing, they are unlikely to regularly play with such a high line again.