One of the most eagerly awaited matches in the group stage of the Club World Cup in the USA turned out to be a gala display by Manchester CIty against Juventus. The 5-2 thrashing was marked not only by top spot in the group stage with a 100% record, but by the Citzens regaining a level of performance they hadn't shown before.
Manchester City took the offensive initiative from the start and managed to open the scoring before ten minutes had elapsed when Doku received the ball in the box and shot wide after a fine move initiated by Alt-Nouri, one of the main additions to the squad for the 2024/25 season. However, Juventus responded to the deficit immediately when Koopmeiners took advantage of a bad miss by Ederson and equalized the game, leaving Pep Guardiola rather annoyed.
Even with the goal conceded, City weren't intimidated and pressed Juventus hard again until they got their second goal in the 26th minute, when Matheus Nunes received a pass from Savinho and crossed into the box looking for a teammate, before Kalulu scored one of the most bizarre own goals in recent soccer history.
Despite a heavy rain during the first half, Pep Guardiola's side were unable to take advantage of the chances they created due to the attentiveness of goalkeeper Di Gregorio. However, the second half took a completely different route from the balance.
In the second half, Manchester City clinched victory again with less than ten minutes gone, with Matheus Nunes bursting forward to break into the penalty area and cross for Erling Haaland to score his 300th goal, making Guardiola very happy on the bench. The strong intensity continued and the Norwegian contributed an assist for Manchester City's fourth goal, which ended with a fine finish from Phil Foden.
The Citzens added a fifth goal after a great deal of confusion in the Juventus defensive system, allowing Savinho to hit a shot past Di Gregorio. The Italians reduced the deficit with another goal from Yildiz.
Are Manchester City the big favorites to win the title?
Manchester City finished the group stage with the best attack in the Club World Cup, even though Bayern Munich beat Auckland City 10-0 in the first leg. With extreme confidence and an easier group stage, Pep Guardiola's side are strong candidates for the final.