I observed Erling Haaland take on a new Man City role against Celtic, and it might have a significant influence.

Manchester City failed to win their first friendly of the tour against Celtic, but there were plenty of talking points.

Manchester City lost to Celtic in their first friendly of the season.

Oscar Bobb scored one and made two in a brilliant effort that kept him on the field longer than nearly anybody else, but it wasn’t enough against a Celtic team that is a week ahead of the Blues in terms of conditioning. Bobb’s second assist was a looping cross that Erling Haaland powered into, demonstrating his ability with headers.

We’ve compiled a list of items that may have slipped under the radar as everyone attempted to keep track of what was going on in North Carolina.

Haaland gains the captaincy
Haaland has not been shy about stating his voice in the dressing room since joining City, but it is worth remembering that he was given the captain’s armband against Celtic. There weren’t many other senior players on display, but Stefan Ortega and Jack Grealish could have argued for it.

Guardiola clearly didn’t think having the captaincy would burden Haaland in any way and the Norwegian kept it even when Ederson came on in the second half in another show of strength. The Norwegian passed it onto the goalkeeper when he was substituted in the second half. Could Haaland be an outside bet to join the leadership group this season?

Lewis must wait for a wish from Rico. Lewis stated last week, in an interview with reporters, that he sees his future as a No.8 midfielder, but he may not receive much time on this tour. Lewis started against Celtic as a right-back and remained there when a few substitutions were made at the start of the second half.

With Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Manu Akanji not on tour, there aren’t many other choices for right-back other than Lewis, so he may have to stick with the position for the time being, even if he wants to move forward.

City played in a stadium with a capacity of 50,000 fans, but tens of thousands appeared to have stayed away. Expectations for the Blues were high, given their success in the United States and the fact that their matches sold out in Korea and Japan last year, but playing in a student-heavy city at a time when students were not there always seemed weird. City CEO Ferran Soriano hopes that the New York, Florida, and Ohio legs will provide additional revenue.

For Phillips, it was déjà vu.
Kalvin Phillips began last summer full of enthusiasm to prove Pep Guardiola and everyone else wrong about his debut season at the Etihad and gain a place in the starting lineup. It went about as far from his plans as possible.

There’s little chance he’ll stay at the Etihad, but it was still painful to see him appear so out of his element while others, like Maximo Perrone, settled in right away.