Palermo 0-3 Man City: Reijnders gets first goals in comfortable warm-up win

Tijjani Reijnders scored his first two goals for Manchester City as they signed off on their pre-season preparations with a routine 3-0 win at Serie B side Palermo.

Reijnders – who joined City ahead of the Club World Cup – came on at half-time and should have had a hat-trick, only to fall over after rounding goalkeeper Alfred Gomis in the last minute.

Before the Dutchman entered the fray, it was all about fellow signing Rayan Cherki, who was denied by Salim Diakite’s goal-line block after Erling Haaland swept City ahead from a Rico Lewis pass in the 25th minute.

Picked to start ahead of Ederson, James Trafford was busy in the first half as City looked shaky at the back, but they pulled clear after Reijnders replaced Nico O’Reilly as one of 10 half-time substitutes.

The Netherlands international fired across goal from the right side of the area just before the hour mark, then slotted home following a clever set-up from 17-year-old Divine Mukasa eight minutes from time.

Though Reijnders failed to secure the match ball at the death, it represented a positive display from the former AC Milan midfielder ahead of next week’s Premier League opener at Wolves.

Reijnders will expect regular gametime at the start of the season, with Rodri sidelined until mid-September and reports suggesting Mateo Kovacic may not return until October.

Former City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, scored twice and provided an assist within the first 23 minutes of Napoli’s 3-2 friendly victory over Girona, teeing up Giovanni Di Lorenzo for the Scudetto holders’ first goal then adding two of his own.

Cristhian Stuani netted twice for Girona before half-time, but the second half did not contain the same level of goalmouth action as Napoli held on for victory.

More minutes in the legs. Happy to score my first goal for the club pic.twitter.com/wQTBoi56Qw

— Kevin De Bruyne (@KevinDeBruyne) August 9, 2025

Elsewhere, Aston Villa’s pre-season preparations continued with a 3-1 defeat at Marseille. Their final friendly is against Villarreal on Sunday.

Mason Greenwood and John McGinn exchanged goals before the break, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came off the bench to net a match-winning brace for the hosts.

Data Debrief: City’s new boys impress

Reijnders was only on the pitch for 45 minutes, but that was more than enough time for him to showcase his ability to ghost into goalscoring positions.

He led all players on the pitch for shots (four), shots on target (four), big chances (three), touches in the opposition area (seven) and expected goals (1.13 xG).

Cherki, meanwhile, boasted the most touches (70), successful passes (51/61) and passes in the final third (29) of any player on the pitch.