Manchester City kicked off their pre-season preparations with a 2-1 win over Club América in Houston, Texas.
Kevin De Bruyne was at his thrilling best, scoring a first-half brace consisting of two sublime right-footed strikes.
His strikes in the first-half were sandwiched between Henry Martin's equaliser for Club América in the 43rd minute.
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In just a few days time, City will take on Bayern Munich in their second and final pre-season friendly before flying back to England.
Pep Guardiola had the task of selecting his first line-up of the 2022/23 campaign, with a whole host of new additions to choose from.
He opted to field new German goalkeeper Stefan Ortega in goal, with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo the full-back pairing.
At centre-back, the experienced Nathan Aké was paired with Luke Mbete and City's favoured midfield three of Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva made their long-awaited return.
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We were made to wait for Erling Haaland's debut, but Argentine forward Julian Alvarez was joined by Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealsh in the front three.
There might be a difference in quality between the two sides, but it was Club América who had the first chance of the game after just two minutes, forcing Ortega into a neat save at the back post.
City were finding joy down their left flank early on and we saw glimpses of silky partnership forming between Grealish and Silva.
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The former was finding the most joy on the ball in the opening exchanges, weaving in and out of challenges and pushing City into some dangerous areas. One free-kick he won led to the Blues' first shot of the game - put into the wall by De Bruyne.
After a slow 30 minutes - maybe typical of a pre-season friendly - De Bruyne sprung the game into life.
Grealish brought the ball forward and found De Bruyne in the centre, who rode one challenge, tapped the ball away from another and bent the ball effortlessly into the far right corner.
City were slowly starting to find their groove towards the end of the first-half and Cancelo was inches from doubling the lead when he shot from the edge of the box squirmed wide.
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Club América did equalise minutes later, however, with Henry Martin twisting and turning inside the area before slotting the ball through Ortega's legs.
It did not take City long to respond and it was De Bruyne again who latched onto Mahrez' ball in behind the backline to slot home his second.
Guardiola - as expected - made a host of changes at half-time, with Cole Palmer, Josh Wilson-Esbrand and Kalvin Phillips coming onto the field - with the latter making his City debut at centre-back.
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Grealish was instantly handed a golden opportunity following a mix-up at the back, but his effort was well saved by the Club América goalkeeper.
The England international was persistent all evening and almost set-up De Bruyne for his hat-trick in the 55th minute, but the Belgian's effort was - again - saved low to the 'keepers right.
From then on, the game rather petered out, with City keeping dominant possession to ensure their first victory of the 2022/23 campaign.
Topics: Manchester City, Pep Guardiola
Harry Siddall