Manchester City are all set to touch down in the blazing inland heat of Orlando’s Camping World Stadium on Thursday at 3 PM, where they’ll lock horns with Juventus in a high-stakes Group G decider. Victory will determine who tops the group — and who likely dodges Real Madrid in the last-16 of the Club World Cup.
Had City thumped Al Ain 7-0 instead of 6-0, a draw would’ve been enough to win the group. But Pep Guardiola’s side came up just one goal short. The City boss, however, wasn’t too bothered.
“With one more goal, we’d have had two options. Now we have just one,” shrugged the Catalan tactician. “But what’s more important is that we’re in the next round. If you want to win, you’ll have to beat the best anyway.”
At the Mercedes-Benz Stadium — a football coliseum that rivals the Death Star in scale — Guardiola made a bold move: fielding an entirely fresh starting XI. And they delivered, ruthlessly dismantling Al Ain, a dominant force in Emirati football.
City stormed into halftime with a 3-0 lead, knowing four more goals could push them ahead of Juventus in the group standings. The atmosphere inside the closed-roof, air-conditioned stadium was cool and controlled — a stark contrast to the red-hot ambition City played with.
When Oscar Bobb netted the fifth — weaving in from the right and slotting home — just five minutes remained. Then Rayan Cherki, another substitute, rifled a shot past Khalid Eisa. And when Erling Haaland toe-poked a perfect pass to Phil Foden at point-blank range, it looked like City’s seventh was inevitable.
But to Guardiola’s frustration, Foden fluffed it, hitting the ball straight at the goalkeeper’s feet. As the final whistle blew, City were stuck in second place.
Even Al Ain fans admitted their chances of avoiding a blowout were slim. Still, City looked shaky at times — even after İlkay Gündoğan broke the deadlock in the 9th minute.
From a Bernardo Silva corner, chaos ensued. The ball pinballed in the box, found Gündoğan, who twisted and dinked a hopeful ball towards Haaland. Instead, it snuck past Eisa and nestled into the net. A lucky bounce? Maybe. But the cheeky grin on Gündoğan’s face said it all: goal’s a goal.
Despite dominating possession, City weren’t quite the slick pass-and-move machine from the vintage Guardiola years. Matheus Nunes, operating on the right, sent one cross flying out of play. Meanwhile, Rayan Aït-Nouri, making his first start at left-back, dribbled into the box with flair — only to dive theatrically at the finish.
But in football, class always tells. When Facundo Zabala hacked down Nunes and earned a yellow, Claudio Echeverri stepped up. From a sharp angle, the young Argentinian whipped a world-class free-kick into the net. Eisa didn’t budge. A keeper frozen like a statue — only Sherlock Holmes could explain why he didn’t even twitch.
After the match, Guardiola revealed:
“I’ll tell you a secret: last season, after every training session, Echeverri stayed behind to practice free-kicks alone. Hard work always pays off. The guys who don’t train — they don’t score.”
Still, City should’ve gone into halftime 6-0 up. Joško Gvardiol’s header smacked the post, and Haaland squandered two chances — one with his left, one with his right — both wide.
But finally, justice came. After VAR intervened and referee Mustapha Ghorbal checked the monitor, a penalty was awarded. Ramy Rabia had manhandled Manuel Akanji in the box. This time, Haaland didn’t shy away — unlike in the FA Cup Final against Crystal Palace, when he let Omar Marmoush miss. He stepped up and calmly slotted it into the bottom-right corner.
After the break, Echeverri was subbed off with a minor ankle twist, making way for Foden — the standout from City’s earlier 2-0 win over Wydad.
City’s formation shifted into a familiar 4-1-4-1, with Foden orchestrating attacks and Rodri, who came on for the final 30 minutes, conducting the midfield.
With Bobb also joining the fray, Guardiola sent a message: no mercy. The forward replaced defender Abdukodir Khusanov, and City went for the kill.
The rear trio held the fort as Foden delivered a slick ball to Haaland, who unleashed two rockets — both denied by Eisa.
Earlier in the match, Nassim Chadli had a shot from a tight angle blocked by Stefan Ortega. Later, he danced through City’s defense again, only to sky his shot — a waste.
Then, Gündoğan showed how it’s done. With some quick feet from Silva, he found himself in space. Two steps. A calm dink over Eisa. No fluke this time. Just vintage Gündoğan magic.