Manchester City have kept alive their hopes of winning the International Champions Cup with a convincing 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Pep Guardiola's side dominated the vast majority of the match and took the lead after just 10 minutes through John Stones, although it took them until the final 20 minutes to double that advantage when Raheem Sterling tucked home.
That scoreline ultimately did not do justice to City's control of the game, but it had a more accurate feel when Brahim Diaz added a third in stoppage time to cap off the scoring.
The match saw Kyle Walker handed an early reunion with his former club when he was named in the City starting lineup, but it was his successor in the full-back role who created the first chance of the contest.
Kieran Trippier's ball from out wide highlighted some statuesque defending from City as it reached Dele Alli at the back post, and Ederson had to be quick off his line to thwart the England international.
It was City that broke the deadlock after just 10 minutes, though, as Kevin De Bruyne's deflected free kick was nodded home by Stones to make it two goals in as many games for the centre-back.
It was also another assist for De Bruyne, and the Belgian looked to get his own name on the scoresheet shortly afterwards with a powerful drive which Hugo Lloris had to deal with.
The goal sparked a period of dominance for City which saw them threaten almost every time they came forward, and Danilo squandered one good chance before Gabriel Jesus thumped an effort right down the throat of Lloris.
Danilo had another sight of goal midway through the first half, but once again his finish was lacking and this time Lloris was able to make a routine stop from his tame strike.
Spurs managed to stem the tide a little after that, and even came close themselves when Christian Eriksen's long-range free kick forced another smart save from City's summer signing Ederson.
Lloris was by far the busier of the two goalkeepers, though, and he was called into a string of saves towards the end of the half to deny Jesus, Danilo and David Silva within the space of just two minutes.
Having spent the vast majority of the half on the back foot, Spurs almost nicked an equaliser against the run of play in the final minute before half time as Harry Kane raced through on goal, only to lift his finish over the crossbar when he only had the keeper to beat.
There was still time for City to respond with an even better chance, though, as De Bruyne beat the offside trap to burst through in a two-on-one situation but, despite laying the ball on a plate for Jesus, the Brazilian somehow failed to apply the finishing touch with the goal gaping.
Despite an action-packed 45 minutes there was only one goal in it as the two sides went into the break, and the second half got off to a slower start with Jesus firing the only notable sight of goal before the hour mark wide in the 52nd minute.
A string of City changes on the hour did seem to perk them back into life, though, and Sergio Aguero had three glorious chances to double his side's lead within 10 minutes of his introduction.
The Argentine first fired straight at Michel Vorm from inside the box when he only had the keeper to beat before firing a languid finish against the foot of the post moments later.
Aguero's best chance came through the unfamiliar Guardiola route of a long ball forward directly from the keeper, though, with Ederson's clearance again finding the striker through on goal only for him to hit the inside of the same post he had struck just three minutes previously.
City did finally give themselves a well-deserved cushion with just under 20 minutes remaining, though, as Samir Nasri's pass released Sterling, who gave Vorm the eyes before tucking a clever finish into the bottom corner.
The goal once again highlighted an absent defence from Spurs, who weren't faring much better at the other end either and squandered a rare chance when Vincent Janssen stayed on his feet in the area after a wild challenge from Nicolas Otamendi before being denied by Ederson.
Eriksen then tested new goalkeeper Arijanet Muric with a 25-yard effort that needed to be pushed away, before a deflected Kyle Walker-Peters delivery almost looped into the back of the net.
Muric was busy again to deny Janssen in the closing stages, but it was City who deservedly had the last laugh when Vorm could only divert Nasri's shot into the path of Diaz, who made no mistake from close range to drive home his side's dominance.
The win takes City top of the ICC, level with Barcelona who take on Real Madrid in a pre-season El Clasico knowing that a draw and anything other than a heavy win for Roma against Juventus would see them lift the trophy.
City will now travel to Iceland for their final pre-season friendly against West Ham United, while Spurs will host Juventus at their adopted home of Wembley.
Barney Corkhill
