Manchester City lived up to their expectations in their Club World Cup opener and ran out 2-0 winners against Wydad Casablanca without taking any major risks at Lincoln Financial Field. Pep Guardiola's side picked up their first three points in Group G and put Juventus and Al Ain under more pressure ahead of tonight's clash.
Unlike other European teams who made their debuts using the starting players that everyone was used to seeing in the big European leagues. Guardiola rotated the squad on the first matchday and gave debuts to Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders, starting alongside Vitor Reis and midfielder Nico O'Reilly.
The strategy worked and the Citzens started at top speed, suffocating Wydad Casablanca in the opening minutes. In a move down the right, Savinho broke into the box and hit a cross that the goalkeeper rebounded for Phil Foden to finish and score the fastest goal since the start of the Club World Cup.
Even with the lead on the scoreboard, Pep Guardiola's side kept up an extremely aggressive line of attacking play. However, Wydad Casablanca weren't daunted by the Citzens and tried to put City under pressure when they had the chance. The most dangerous chance came when Loch tried to surprise Ederson and he almost covered the Brazilian goalkeeper.
Wydad Casablanca also had another great opportunity after Vitor Reis missed and Zemraoui had a 1v1 against Ederson, but he slipped at the end. And the mistake proved costly, because before the break, Foden found space to lift the ball into the area and Doku finished into the net.
Manchester City red carded in opening game
Pep Guardiola's side once again dictated the tempo in the second half with plenty of possession, while Wydad opted to stay back defensively in order to reduce space. Not only did the Citzens accomplish their mission, but they were also disadvantaged after Nico Lewis was shown a straight red card after hitting his opponent in the face.