Erling Haaland at double as Manchester City win eight-goal friendly thriller in Tokyo

Erling Haaland quickly found his scoring touch as Manchester City came out on top in a eight-goal pre-season friendly goal-fest against Yokohama F Marinos on Sunday.

The Norwegian striker was brought on at half-time having watched his City teammates recover from a two-goal deficit in the opening 45 minutes in Tokyo, thanks to finishes from John Stones and Julian Alvarez just before the break.

And it took Haaland – who scored 52 goals across all competitions for treble winners City last season – just seven minutes to find the target at the Japan National Stadium when he turned inside the box and fired a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.

Midfielder Rodi made it 4-2 with a sweet finish from distance in the 71st minute with a before Marinos pulled a goal back – but, inevitably, Haaland had the last word when he tapped home from close range to make it 5-3.

“Compared to last season he is fitter,” said manager Pep Gaurdiola. “He is much better than last season when he arrived. We would love him to be like last season. He is not injured which is good but he is still away from it like everyone. It is important to take the rhythm and the principles we work with all the time.

City's starting XI in their first pre-season game ahead of the new campaign included defender Kyle Walker – who has been linked with a move to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich – and their summer signing from Chelsea, midfielder Mateo Kovacic.

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