The clash between Man City and Wydad shows a clear difference in strength and class at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™. According to Opta , in terms of winning probability, Man City has a 91.9% chance of winning all 3 points compared to 1.6% for the Moroccan representative. This prediction is even more grounded when coach Pep Guardiola brings to the United States a squad with all his best stars such as Haaland, Rodri, Bernardo Silva. At the same time, the "heavyweight" rookie squad such as Tijjani Reijnders, Cherki and Ait-Nouri are also present. In the opening match, the English representative did not hide their intention to win big when they fielded almost their strongest squad. The only surprise that coach Pep Guardiola made was to let Omar Marmoush play highest up front instead of Haaland as usual.
Omar Marmoush (left) is trusted instead of Haaland
PHOTO: REUTERS
Man City's unconvincing performance
With superior strength, Man City confidently pushed up their formation and attacked after the opening whistle. Not letting the more than 40,000 fans at Lincoln Stadium wait long, in the 2nd minute, Man City found a goal. From a difficult cross from the right wing by Sávio, Phil Foden chose the right position, opening the score of the match.
The early goal seemed to help Man City players relax, but surprisingly the opposite happened. The English representative held the ball for nearly 70% of the time but made many mistakes when attacking. Striker Omar Marmoush was always in a state of "starving for the ball", having to constantly retreat deep to act as a wall. The two new players Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders played out of rhythm, often losing the ball. The duo were rated 6.8 and 6.9 points by Sofascore , respectively, the lowest in Man City's lineup. It was not until the end of the first half that Man City found the goal to lead 2-0 when Jérémy Doku rushed in and finished strongly from Phil Foden's cross.
Highlight Manchester City 2-0 Widad: Unconvincing win | FIFA Club World Cup 2025™
On the opposite side, Wydad was considered weaker but played with confidence. Coach Amine Benhachem's students took advantage of Man City's mistakes to counterattack quickly. The Moroccan representative had 3 clear chances to score but unfortunately they were inaccurate in the final touches, unable to penetrate Man City's net.
At the end of the match, journalist Niall McVeigh of The Guardian (UK) commented: "Coach Pep Guardiola was restless in the first half. The Spanish coach kept reminding the positions on the field because Man City played unconvincingly. They appeared slow and fumbled against Wydad's crowded defense. With this way of playing, it is difficult for them to win the championship as coach Pep Guardiola had declared before coming to the US."
Man City (blue shirt) did not attack well in the first half despite being considered superior.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Coach Pep Guardiola has to constantly remind his students
PHOTO: REUTERS
After the break, Man City made many changes to the lineup. Newcomer Rayan Cherki played poorly and had to make way for Haaland. In addition, the owner of the world's Golden Ball Rodri was also put on the field. Notably, this was the first match of the Spanish player after nearly a year on the sidelines due to a serious injury.
However, Man City continued to face many difficulties. Coach Pep Guardiola's students were completely deadlocked in attack, only had 1 shot on target and could not score more goals. Even starting from the 88th minute, Man City had to play with one less player when Rico Lewis received a red card and left the field. If it were not for the excellence of goalkeeper Ederson, Man City's net could have shaken after kicks from Nordin Amrabat and Zemraoui.
Man City had a difficult second half despite Rodri and Haaland coming on
PHOTO: REUTERS
With a hard-fought 2-0 win over Wydad, Man City has the first 3 points at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, temporarily taking the lead in Group G. In the second match, Man City will face UAE representative - Al Ain at 8:00 on June 23. On the opposite side, Wydad is at the bottom of the table and will face another European giant, Juventus.
Watch FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ live and only in Vietnam on FPT Play, at http://fptplay.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/rodri-tai-xuat-man-city-nhoc-nhan-danh-bai-wydad-hlv-guardiola-dung-ngoi-khong-yen-185250619010345017.htm
Comment (0)