Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the friendly was the way in which City used their two starting fullbacks, Rico Lewis and Josh Wilson-Esbrand, that potentially presents a new tactical outlook for this season.
Pep Guardiola brought it back at the start of 2023, with Lewis, having just turned 18 at the time, starting every game for City in this role and keeping Cancelo and Kyle Walker out of the lineup.
Since that system was successful in winning City the treble, it had been used more or less ever since, with Stones, Lewis, Manuel Akanji and Josko Gvardiol all taking up that role at one point or another.
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