Enzo Maresca ball already looks broken - but Erling Haaland is primed for another monster season: Winners & losers as Man City's youngsters embarrass Chelsea in friendly

As bad starts go, this was right up there. Maresca’s desire to play out from the back undoubtedly played a big part in Chelsea’s decision to hire him, but when it fails as spectacularly as this, you can't help but wonder just what the future holds for him. After all, Chelsea's hierarchy have hardly built themselves a reputation for being patient after taking control from Roman Abramovich.

The Blues were masters of their own downfall in Ohio, falling 2-0 behind after two shocking - and extremely similar - errors at the back. Firstly, Tosin Adarabioyo was robbed by Jack Grealish inside his own box, leading to Haaland being fouled by Colwill and the City striker making no mistake from the penalty spot, despite being made to retake his spot-kick after an apparent issue with his stuttering run-up.

Maresca’s men didn’t learn, though. Just moments later, some risky passing on the edge of their own box ended with Caicedo playing the ball straight to Haaland, who shifted it quickly onto his right foot and blasted home. The mistakes didn’t stop there, however, with Chelsea coming close to disaster on at least three occasions afterwards. Having also conceded goals while trying to play out from the back in pre-season games against Wrexham and Celtic, there is a concerning trend already developing.

Todd Boehly and Co. signed up for Guardiola-style football when appointing one of his many disciples in Maresca, but they’re miles away from it on this evidence.

Four games in the U.S. for Haaland this summer and five goals scored. It's been some start to pre-season for the Norwegian and it would've been even better had he been rightfully awarded the 'ghost goal' he netted against Barcelona earlier this week.

After spending the first part of the summer with his feet up after his country missed out on the Euros, Haaland looks refreshed and raring to launch another assault on all four trophies - and every goalscoring record you can think of - when the real action begins in a couple of weeks.

The former Borussia Dortmund man, who was named City captain on the night, was sharp with his movement to win an early penalty before calmly scoring the spot-kick after a retake. A couple of minutes later he pounced on an error from Caicedo to smash home City’s second and then completed his hat-trick after the break with an unstoppable, low finish beyond Robert Sanchez.

He could've even had another in the first half, but his acrobatic, if slightly awkward, flying volley flew narrowly over the bar. Look out, Premier League.

These were Caicedo’s first minutes in pre-season following his Copa America exploits with Ecuador, and it looked as if he could’ve done with an extra couple of weeks on a beach somewhere. The £115 million ($147m) man looked lost from the start and gifted City their second goal just six minutes in with a terrible pass straight to Haaland on the edge of his own box.

It didn’t get much better from that point onwards, either. Shortly after he went down after being clattered by one of his own team-mates and was then booked for a clumsy tackle on Bobb after just 20 minutes. Caicedo looked worryingly off the pace despite the international action he's had recently, with ex-Chelsea man Mateo Kovacic easily outshining him in midfield for City.

The former Brighton star's substitution at half-time was almost certainly pre-planned, but you wouldn’t have blamed Maresca for dragging him off earlier. It was a miserable return to club football for Caicedo, and he still has a mountain to climb when it comes to justifying his frankly absurd price-tag.

Yes, you read that right. Kalvin Phillips has become a figure of fun at City - and was even mocked during his loan spell at West Ham last season - but there were glimpses here that he may have a small chance of rescuing his faltering career at the Etihad. Or at least earning himself a decent move elsewhere.

The former Leeds midfielder was deployed at centre back in Ohio and looked comfortable throughout, almost playing a quarterback role with a host of long, accurate passes - particularly in the first half - to the likes of Grealish and Bobb on City’s flanks. He also put in an excellent challenge to stop a dangerous burst from Mykhailo Mudryk and barely put a foot wrong before being taken off in the second half.

City are well stocked in central defence and it’d take a serious injury crisis - or some seriously unexpected transfer business - for Phillips to break into the starting XI next season, but he at least appears to be earning some trust from Guardiola, particularly after putting in a similarly solid display in the same position against Barcelona a few days earlier.

Gary Neville famously called Chelsea the 'blue billion-pound bottlejobs' last season, and you could imagine him having something else to say after witnessing the vast majority of this latest performance from Maresca's underperforming side. Despite all of the money spent, they still look woefully short of quality in key areas.

It was another shambolic defensive display, following on from conceding twice to League One Wrexham and letting in four in the thrashing by Celtic, but it is perhaps in midfield and attack where Chelsea's biggest issues might lie as the season goes on. While Caicedo struggled on his return, Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - a favourite of Maresca's during his season at Leicester - were all largely anonymous against a fairly weak City side, at least on paper. Romeo Lavia continued his decent pre-season form, but concerns over his injury record remain.

Christopher Nkunku looked lively and should provide plenty of goal contributions if he can avoid the fitness issues which plagued him during his debut season, but Chelsea still appear short of genuine quality at centre forward, which is baffling given the vast amount they've invested in the transfer market since the summer of 2022. It stinks of a recruitment process too concerned with the future, and less about immediate success - which is exactly what the owners still seem to crave after getting rid of Mauricio Pochettino.

When the two starting line-ups for the game in Ohio were announced, there was a clear difference between them. Chelsea's XI was made up entirely of first-team regulars plus new summer signings, while City's included five youngsters. You would not, however, have known it after watching the game.

Despite the lack of experience in Guardiola's side, James McAtee and Co. more than made up for it with their confidence, energy and control in possession. It is not difficult to spot players who have been trained in the City - or should that be Pep - way, but it remains impressive to see it put into action, especially against an expensively-assembled side like Chelsea, albeit in a pre-season friendly.

Josh Wilson-Esbrand caught the eye at left-back, shackling Mudryk with relative ease during the first half and offering a threat going forward before being forced off with an unfortunate hamstring injury. McAtee, meanwhile, appears to have a bit of Grealish about him and did not look out of place in the City team, while Bobb looks certain to play a bigger role next season after continuing his brilliant form in the U.S. with some dazzling runs and another superbly taken goal.

City still have 12 key players, including the likes of John Stones, Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne, to return, but you wouldn't have known they were so short given how the youngsters stepped up in their absence. The future looks bright.