Philadelphia (AFP) – Manchester City hit Al Ain for six on Sunday to secure a place in the last 16 of the Club World Cup after Real Madrid shrugged off an early red card to beat Mexican side Pachuca 3-1. Juventus proved too strong for Wydad Casablanca while Red Bull Salzburg and Al Hilal drew 0-0 as the second round of group games at the tournament came to a conclusion.
The match between City and Al Ain in Atlanta was dubbed the “Abu derby,” with the English club’s owner and United Arab Emirates vice-president Sheikh Mansour facing off against his elder sibling, Sheikh Mohamed, president of the Emirati team and also the country. Ilkay Gundogan put City ahead early on before 19-year-old Claudio Echeverri netted his first goal for the club with a free-kick and Erland Haaland slotted in the third with a penalty in first-half stoppage time. In the second half, Gundogan struck again before two substitutes joined in, with Oscar Bobb rolling in the fifth and Rayan Cherki grabbing his first City goal for 6-0.
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The result, in a game watched by a crowd of over 40,000, means both City and Juventus are through to the knockout phase after each winning their first two matches in Group G. They will now face each other in Orlando on Thursday to decide who tops the section. “Now we have to see whether we’ll be first or second in the group,” said City coach Pep Guardiola, who changed his entire starting line-up following the 2-0 opening win against Wydad. “We played a little bit better than the first game, especially in the second half.”
Juventus triumphed 4-1 against Moroccan giants Wydad in Philadelphia, as Kenan Yildiz played a starring role. The Turkish international forward scored twice after forcing the early own goal which put Juve ahead in front of almost 32,000 at Lincoln Financial Field. His shot found the net with the aid of a slight but crucial deflection off Abdelmounaim Boutouil, and Yildiz then smashed in the second on 16 minutes with a brilliant half-volley. South African winger Thembinkosi Lorch pulled one back for Wydad, but the impressive Yildiz made it 3-1 midway through the second half and Dusan Vlahovic converted a penalty in injury time to seal the win for Igor Tudor’s side. “He has great potential,” Tudor told broadcaster DAZN when asked about Yildiz. “A wonderful player, so there is a big future in front of him.”
In Charlotte, Real Madrid overcame the early sending-off of Raul Asencio to beat Pachuca and get their first win under new coach Xabi Alonso. Defender Asencio was dismissed after just seven minutes for pulling down Salomon Rondon with the Venezuelan clear on goal. That left the Liga MX team sensing the chance for an upset in front of 70,248 fans at the home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers.
However, Real took the lead on 35 minutes when Jude Bellingham buried a left-foot shot into the bottom corner, and they scored again before the interval through Arda Guler. Fede Valverde got their third in the second half, with a deflected Elias Montiel effort pulling one back for Pachuca. Alonso praised the way his team handled the early sending-off. “It became really intense for us, but we defended with a lot of sacrifice and solidarity, which is what it takes,” he said.
Alonso also stated that Real defender Antonio Rudiger had complained of a racist incident at the end of the game when the German was visibly angered following an exchange of words with Pachuca’s Gustavo Cabral. “I think the FIFA protocol has been activated to investigate, but if it has happened, all measures should be taken and we support Antonio because it’s something unacceptable,” said the coach. Cabral, the 39-year-old Argentinian centre-back, denied the accusations, saying his words had been misinterpreted.
Real are level at the top of Group H on four points with Salzburg, who drew 0-0 with Al Hilal in Washington, DC. Madrid and Salzburg meet each other next in Philadelphia, while Al Hilal have two points and can still qualify with a win when they play Pachuca, who are now out.
© 2024 AFP
