Man City proved Joshua Kimmich right in Bayern Munich win

Ahead of their pre-season meeting in Tokyo, Bayern Munich captain Joshua Kimmich admitted Man City are the best team in Europe right now. The bad news for him is that he could be that way for a long time too.

City have not only reaped the rewards of years of tireless hard work behind the scenes, but they have already sown the seed for future success to follow as well.

Pep Guardiola made four changes from the side that defeated Yokohama at the weekend as he gets closer to the team he wants to see start the Community Shield, yet there was still room for two of the club's most impressive youngsters to shine from the start.

A lot has been made of the roughly £200m City have made from academy sales in the last five years, though just as impressive are those super-talented starlets who have somehow managed to muscle their way into regular first-team reckoning.

HIGHLIGHTS: Man City vs Bayern highlights and reaction

Just as notable, though, was who kept their place. It turns out Guardiola does actually know what he’s talking about, following those reports from Germany that Kyle Walker wouldn’t play. Not only did he start, he captained the side.

It was a lively start to their meeting at the National Stadium in Japan, with academy ace Rico Lewis at the heart of everything his side did well going forward against an almost full-strength Bayern side.

The 18-year-old was combative in midfield, so much so that it almost cost his side. A strong challenge on Konrad Laimer drew a free-kick, from which Leroy Sane thundered a ferocious effort off the bar with Ederson rooted to his spot.

It was a warning sign that this game was going to be far tougher than the one at the weekend. James McAtee, who had struggled to get into the game, made