The Norwegian hitman scored a towering header but the midfielder had a dismal return to action in a blue shirt in a wild friendly

Erling Haaland was back amongst the goals but Manchester City's tour of the United States got off to a rough start as they were beaten 4-3 by Celtic in a hugely entertaining match in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The insatiable striker was the player everyone wanted to see, and Haaland gave the fans what they wanted with a thumping header to equalise in the second half, but only after Pep Guardiola's side had gotten off to a miserable start against a rampant Celtic side.

Brendan Rodgers' side began their pre-season at the start of the month and looked much more finely-tuned than the Premier League champions, racing into a 3-1 lead by half-time thanks to two strikes from German forward Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn and Japan international Kyogo Furuhashi.

Oscar Bobb had replied for City and was the star performer for Guardiola's side, dragging them back to draw 3-3 through Maximo Perrone and Haaland. Celtic regained the lead for a third time, however, when Luis Palma beat Ederson, and this time the Cityzens had no reply.

The leaky defence will be the biggest concern for Guardiola while Kalvin Phillips did not have a happy return in a City shirt – and hopes of reviving his career at the Etihad Stadium appear to be very slim after a dismal showing in midfield.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Kenan Stadium…

GettyWINNER: Erling Haaland

The Norwegian was the star attraction for almost every fan decked in blue at Kenan Stadium and he wore the captain's armband for the occasion. Haaland scored his first goal for City on the 2022 tour of the U.S. and he rose to the occasion again here, quite literally when he used his monstrous strength to out-jump Liam Scales and head City level.

It was third-time lucky for Haaland, who showed bright movement in the first half but was twice denied by fine saves from Kasper Schmeichel, whose father Peter was a team-mate of Haaland's dad, Alfie.

But you can't keep a double Golden Boot winner down for long and Haaland will be keen to add to his tally in the remaining three games of the tour before plotting another assault on the Premier League's scoring charts.

AdvertisementLOSER: City's defence

Guardiola's side were utterly destroyed on the counter-attack in the first half, and every time they lost the ball in midfield they looked vulnerable.

This was an unfamiliar starting back four, with Rico Lewis the most experienced player in a defence also featuring Luke Mbete, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Josh Wilson-Esbrand, who was particularly exposed at left-back. He was shown no mercy by Kuhn, who capitalised on the acres of space behind and beat the left-back for pace for both of his goals.

Kuhn also set up the third goal, which too came down City's left, but this time he held the ball up before playing a sumptuous pass in to the path of Furuhashi. Guardiola has plenty of work to do before Saturday's game against AC Milan to prevent another embarrassment.

Getty ImagesLOSER: Kalvin Phillips

This was Phillips' first appearance for City since leaving in January for what proved to be a dismal loan spell at West Ham and it did not go well, to put it kindly. He simply could not impose himself on the game and his lack of mobility meant Celtic had endless space to work with every time they countered.

Phillips had a disastrous 18 months at City following his £42m ($54m) move from Leeds United, making just two Premier League starts, both of which were in effectively meaningless games. On this evidence, he is unlikely to get many many more chances.

Watching him muddle his way around the field, it was hard not to think of Gareth Southgate recently lamenting that England had never replaced Phillips, who was one of their key players at Euro 2020. His fall from grace since then has been so sharp and it was hard not to feel sorry for him as he continued to look out of his depth even in the gentler pace of a pre-season friendly.

Getty WINNER: Oscar Bobb

Haaland was not the only Norwegian who was looking to impress the crowd. In fact, he was upstaged by Bobb, who had his prints on all three of City's goals and all of their best moves. He made it 1-1 with a thumping strike which wrong-footed Schmeichel and then took it upon himself to haul the team back into the game in the second half.

He produced an outrageous piece of play down the right flank, tormenting two Celtic defenders before laying the ball off for Perrone to strike. He then delivered a perfectly weighted cross which Haaland powered home to equalise.

The 21-year-old is one of the most experienced players on this tour as the bulk of the City squad are still on their break after the European Championship and Copa America. He had clearly done his homework on U.S. culture, embarrassing Haaland and Stefan Ortega in a quiz on American slang that was aired before City jetted off to the States. And if he keeps this form up, he could further increase his popularity among American fans.