Man City left with two transfer dilemmas after Manchester United win

For four minutes, everything seemed crystal clear for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.

The need to replace Julian Alvarez and provide cover for Rodri means that they will remain active in the transfer window until the end of it, but in the meantime there are opportunities for those already in the squad. In a decent test against United at Wembley, three academy graduates stepped up in the first half.

First came Rico Lewis, the most experienced of the three but someone who has been unable to play where he wants all summer because of shortages in defence. This was the first game he had been given licence to roam forward into the No.8 positions for a good while and he made the most of it, bursting into the box in the 21st minute before his cross couldn't quite find Erling Haaland.

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Seconds later, a lovely turn from James McAtee - the 21-year-old who has spent the last two years on loan at Sheffield United - beat two United players and Mateo Kovacic released Oscar Bobb to tear into the box, only for him to blast over. As United sought to get out of their own third, Lisandro Martinez was put under enough pressure to force him to give the ball straight to Bobb and he found McAtee, whose curling effort hit the post.

This was a refreshing new look for City, with new energy provided by three youngsters that hadn't cost them a penny. It continued the tradition of recent years of City dominating United on the ball, and threatened to break their run of three consecutive defeats in the Community Shield.

It should be no surprise by now that City are not very good at winning this fixture. Last