Man City east past Tottenham in Nashville to wrap up U.S. tour

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Manchester City fired a warning to their Premier League title rivals with a resounding 3-0 win over Tottenham in the battle of the big-spenders and the reluctant-spenders in the International Champions Cup.

Both clubs have one more preseason game to play but City looked by far the readier for the big kick-off after goals from John Stones, Raheem Sterling and youngster Brahim Diaz. Both managers played their best-available team, but City's bench -- including Samir Nasri, Leroy Sane, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero -- underlined the difference in quality in the two squads.

The prematch build-up was dominated by Kyle Walker, starting against Spurs just two weeks after joining City for £50 million, and he was raucously booed by a partisan crowd of 56,232 at Nissan Stadium. The right-back is emblematic of the clubs' contrasting approaches in the transfer market and both feel they have done good business.

By the end of this game, at least, it was City laughing. Walker was influential in a one-sided match, stretching Spurs and pegging them back, with help from left-wingback Danilo. Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Co. exploited the space, while Spurs looked off the pace and short of options from the bench.

Inside a minute, Kieran Trippier -- the player tasked with filling Walker's boots -- curled a cross to the back post for the unmarked Dele Alli, only for Ederson to race out and smother his shot. The chance set the tone for a wide open match, in which Spurs had openings but City could have finished with six or seven goals.

Within 10 minutes, Stones opened the scoring, diving to head De Bruyne's deflected free-kick past Hugo Lloris, after Mousa Dembele was penalised for a push on Silva.

Spurs recovered quickly to conceding early in a 4-2 win against Paris Saint-Germain in Orlando last weekend, but they looked rattled, and City had three glorious chances to double their lead within five minutes. De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus both sent tame shots at Lloris either side of easy chance for Danilo, who curled over from 12 yards after good work from Sterling.

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Spurs were all at sea, and missing Victor Wanyama -- sidelined with a knock. Danilo had another shot saved by Lloris, and although Eriksen's curling free kick from 30 yards drew a Hollywood save from Ederson, Spurs' frustration began to show on the half hour when Alli exchanged shoves with Nicolas Otamendi.

Next, Gabriel Jesus -- looking to prove that he, rather than Alexis Sanchez or Kylian Mbappe, can be City's main man this season -- wriggled free and tested Lloris again but he fluffed a far easier opportunity, blazing high and wide after De Bruyne had beaten the offside trap and squared.

Lloris was the only Spurs player seeing any of the ball and the goalkeeper's best save -- his seventh of the first half -- came when he tipped Danilo's curling shot around the post at full-stretched. It said a lot that Brazilian should probably have finished the first half with a hat trick.

If Spurs were sluggish and struggling to string two passes together, it was not for a lack of passion. Dier reacted angrily when De Bruyne tripped him from behind, while England teammates Alli and Sterling exchanged words. The referee showed a first yellow card when Kompany blocked substitute Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and a minute later, the Belgian -- who was pushing his luck -- tripped Kane from behind.

The contest threatened to boil over when Walker, who was withdrawn soon after as one of a host of second-half changes, flew in on Eriksen with at least one foot off the ground.

The football, however, was continuing in a similar vein and Aguero twice hit the same post in a matter of minutes, the second time after Ederson's free kick had left him one-on-one with substitute Michel Vorm.

It had begun to look like one of those afternoons for City, who squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Spurs at the Etihad last season, but Spurs were so open at the back that it would genuinely have taken some astonishing misses for City to fail to score again.

Sterling finally made sure when left clean through again, cleverly dummying a low shot past Vorm, and there was still time for the Dutchman to make two saves, before Diaz added gloss from close range in stoppage time.

It was two goals from two games for the 17-year-old, who also scored a late wonder goal in the win over Real Madrid earlier this week.