Manchester City crushed Al Ain in their FIFA Club World Cup Group G clash, with Ilkay Gundogan scoring in the first eight minutes.
During the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, City had the ball 74% of the time.
In the 27th minute, Claudio Echeverri took a free kick from 22 yards and made the score 2-0.
Erling Haaland scored his third goal from the penalty spot just before halftime after Rami Rabia fouled Manuel Akanji.
SECOND-HALF RUSH SEALS THE DEAL
After halftime, Manchester City crushed their opponents through sustained pressure and continued to dominate territory and possession.
Bernardo Silva’s accurate pass set up Gündogan for his second goal of the game in the 73rd minute.
Oscar Bobb skilfully converted a through pass from Rodri to score the fifth goal in the 84th minute.
Rayan Cherki scored his first City goal as Al Ain, with only 26% possession, struggled to score.
GUARDIOLA’S ROTATION PLAN WORKS
Pep Guardiola made eleven changes from City’s previous match against Wydad Casablanca. The team remained cohesive despite the reorganisation.
Rayan Cherki and Claudio Echeverri debuted, while Rodri played 30 minutes as planned in his ACL recovery.
After the match, Guardiola noted that the team “missed by one goal” in their attempt to lead the group.
SET FOR GROUP DECISION: CITY AND JUVENTUS
According to Reuters, Manchester City’s 6–0 crushing of Al Ain puts them level with Juventus on six points, with a goal difference of +8 in Group G.
On the same day, Juventus beat Wydad Casablanca 4-1, bringing their total goals to nine, which was more than City’s eight.
This gave them the edge in the goals-scored tiebreaker, according to ESPN. On 26 June 2025, the two teams will meet in Orlando to decide the group winner.
CAN MANCHESTER CITY DEFEAT JUVENTUS AND KEEP UP THIS PERFORMANCE?
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