Abu Dhabi Diary: Day Six | OneFootball

A look at the final day of Manchester City’s warm weather training camp, including acrobatic ice cream catches and a trip to the golf course…

Gareth Taylor’s side have been out in Abu Dhabi for a week ahead of our return to competitive action against Ipswich Town on Sunday 12 January.

While also making the most of any down time in the United Arab Emirates away from the pitch, the squad have been put through their paces with several intense sessions in the heat.

Our final session of warm weather training was dominated by an 11 v 11 full pitch practice, as the players reacclimatised to a match scenario once again ahead of this weekend.

WATCH: Training: One final session in the sun

Playing on the left flank, Lily Murphy found the net with two clinical finishes in the opening half, but the quality on show across the entire squad created a genuine excitement from the sidelines.

After some final gym work, it was time to prepare for our return to Manchester, with an overnight flight scheduled for the players.

However, there was still time for two separate commercial engagements, with Chloe Kelly, Khiara Keating and Tara O’Hanlon joining Steph Houghton at Yas Links for a round of golf.

Tara and Steph certainly knew their way around a course, but the biggest celebration of the afternoon came from Keating when she was able to make a clean contact from the tee!

Elsewhere, members of the squad also paid a visit to a City Football Schools session with youngsters from our Talented Player Programme.

After watching the session, the team met the participants to sign shin pads, phone cases and even a polaroid picture taken by one young fan.

With a late flight on the horizon, the squad spent some final down time grabbing a well-earned ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery.

To add a little extra excitement to the occasion, the players were challenged to catch their scoops from a distance into their ice cream cups… resulting in plenty of laughs and celebrations!