Kevin De Bruyne praises Man City academy stars after pre-season win

Kevin De Buryne was full of praise for Manchester City's academy stars after they played a huge part in Pep Guardiola's side kicking off their pre-season tour with a win.

The Belgian was the best player on the field at the NRG Stadium as he scored both goals for his side in their 2-1 win over Club America. There was sadly no Erling Haaland debut as Guardiola made City fans wait a little while longer to catch a glimpse of their new signing in action.

The absence of the Norwegian striker was no issue for a star-studded City side as De Bruyne reminded everyone just how good he is. Julian Alvarez also impressed on his debut.

ALSO READ: De Bruyne and Alvarez strike new partnership to show Man City Plan B without Erling Haaland

Plenty of youngsters were on display with seven academy members featuring in the pre-season win. Luke Mbete, Josh Wilson-Esbrand, James McAtee, Rico Lewis, Cole Palmer, Kayky and Liam Delap all featured in the victory as they tried to impress their manager.

They looked assured throughout the match as they rubbed shoulders with City's senior squad members and De Bruyne was full of praise for them following the 2-1 victory.

Speaking to City's in-house media after the match, he said: "We know the quality they have and pre-season is good for them to get game time and understand how we play as a team - they are doing very well."

18-year-old centre-back Mbete started alongside Nathan Ake against Club America. The defender gave his assessment of the match as he also spoke after the victory, saying: “I think we did a very good job considering it was our first game.

“There’s a long way to go but we are just going to keep on improving and hopefully in the next game we can be better than today.

“I’m