After 18 months away Patrick Roberts was back in a Manchester City shirt in the early hours of the morning.
A Manchester derby staged in Houston under the banner of International Champions Cup was the occasion that saw the winger attempt one of the toughest tasks in the game- playing his way into Pep Guardiola’s first team plans.
City lost the game 2-0 with Roberts impressing in a 45 minute appearance alongside some of the biggest names in the City squad.
Look at Patrick Roberts sending that crossing merchant back to Ajax https://t.co/U5FCZZzfDR
— Banter Era (@BanterEra_) July 21, 2017
Going through the City squad man by man the Manchester Evening News reported: “Had a strong penalty shout when dragged back by Smalling in the first half. Was persistent threat on the right and will have done his chances no harm 6.”
City will now move on to Los Angeles to prepare for Wednesday’s match against Real Madrid with their final match in the competition against Tottenham in Tennessee.
Guardiola has a massive squad to select from with another loan Celt, Jason Denayer included in the party currently in the United States.
Brendan Rodgers hasn’t given up hope of bringing Roberts back to Celtic but there will be a number of factors involved in that decision with Southampton the latest club to express an interest in the former Fulham player.
