Manchester City thrash Al Ain and qualify for the round of 16 of the Club World Cup
The English team beat Al Ain 6-0 and are now qualified for the next stage of the Club World Cup.
Manchester City thrashed Al Ain this Sunday (22) and is already qualified for the next phase of the Club World Cup. The Citizens scored 6-0 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in Atlanta.
Pep Guaridiola’s team came into the match needing a seven-goal victory if they wanted to take provisional first place in Group G, which is held by Juventus.
Al Ain wanted at least a draw to dream of qualifying in the last round against the also eliminated Wydad Casablanca.
First half decided by set pieces
Manchester City opened the scoring in the 8th minute of the first half, after a corner kick taken by Bernardo Silva. Amidst the confusion in the area, the ball fell to German midfielder Gundogan, who, when trying to cross, lobbed goalkeeper Khalid Elisa and scored the first goal for the English team.
For 6 minutes after the European team’s goal, Al Ain’s team grew in the match and had a clear opportunity in the 17th minute of the game, with Chadii, who came face to face with goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, who made a great save.
In the 27th minute of the first half, Claudio Echeveri was fouled at the edge of the area, and he himself took the shot with great skill, increasing the score for the English Shark. It was the first goal of the 19-year-old Argentine with the Manchester City shirt .
At the end of the first half, Akanji was held down in the penalty area. After consulting VAR, the referee awarded a penalty. Haaland shot on the opposite side of the goalkeeper, giving no chance and extending the score to 3-0 for Manchester City, thus ending the first half.
Intense second half for the English team
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In the second half, Pep Guardiola’s team continued to put pressure on the United Arab Emirates team. With the introduction of Foden, Rodri and Oscar Bobb, the team piled up goal opportunities.
In the 28th minute of the second half, after a beautiful pass from Bernardo Silva to Gundogan, who got away from the defender and touched the ball into the corner of the Al Ain goalkeeper’s goal, he scored the fourth goal for the English team.
The current Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri Hernández, provided a beautiful assist for Oscar Bob, who had come on in the second half, to score another goal for the Cityzens.
Manchester were not satisfied; they wanted the 6th goal, which would give the team provisional leadership, in addition to the advantage of a draw against Juventus, which would decide the leader of group G.
Top scorer Haaland, on a day as a waiter, set up the team’s newest star, Frenchman Cherki, formerly of Lyon, to score his first goal for the English shark and the 6th for the team led by Pep Guardiola.
Upcoming challenges
With this result, Manchester will not have the advantage of a draw against Juventus in the last round to stay in first place, as they have scored fewer goals than the Italian team: eight for the English team against nine for the Italians.
The match will take place on Thursday (26) and will decide the leader of the group, who will face the second placed team in group H, which has Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Red Bull Salzburg and Pachuca (already eliminated).
Al Ain, after two defeats, will play against Wydad Casablanca on Thursday . Wydad are in a better position as they have conceded fewer goals in their games against European teams.
