At the semi-final match of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup held at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the team beat the Urawa Reds 3-0 in total. The match was one-sided, as the number of shootings was leading 24-1. Manchester City will have a showdown with Fluminensee of Brazil, who is on the final round, for the title trophy.
“This is the first time that Manchester City is participating in a Club World Cup, and I don’t take it for granted. It is a privilege and an honor,” Pep Guardiola told a news conference ahead of the match. “It is not easy to advance to the final. We do not know much about the Urawa Reds. We wanted to get as much information as possible on the opponent team. The Japanese national team has won matches with world-class teams, including the German team. Japanese soccer is strong,” he expressed caution.
Guardiola, who participated in the tournament amid a tight schedule between the league and the UEFA Champions League, put forward the main players. Phil Foden deployed a zero-top tactic at the front line without Elling Holan. Jack Grealish, Matheus Nunes, and Bernardo Silva took the second line and selected Matteo Kovacic as Rodri’s mate. The four-back line consisted of Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, John Stones and Kyle Walker. Ederson served as goalkeeper.
Manchester City struggled with the Urawa Reds’ solid defense. Manchester City’s chance to score came only in the 35th minute of the first half. Nishikawa goalkeeper blocked Foden’s left footed strong shot. Two minutes later, Nunes’ left footed shot also went to Nishikawa goalkeeper.
The Urawa Reds seemed to end the first half 0-0 by blocking Manchester City’s wave attack, but Manchester City finally succeeded in attacking in the second half extra time. Manchester City’s unique attack on the half-line hit the mark. Rodri dug into the half-line and succeeded in penetrating into the penalty box. Rodri’s Orlan ground ball cross hit the foot of the Urawarez defender and led to a goal. Manchester City took the lead with an own goal.
Having lost the lead, Urawarez had no choice but to gradually raise his line, and Manchester City scored an additional goal in the early hours. At 51st minute in the second half, Kyle Walker penetrated from the side to the center and sprayed a through pass. The ball was connected to Kovacic, who penetrated into the opponent’s back space. Kovacic made it 2-0 when he had a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper with his right footed shot in the opposite goal.
Shortly thereafter, Manchester City’s third goal was scored. It was only 7 minutes after the second goal. Nunes’ shot hit goalkeeper Nishikawa. The ball was headed to Silva, who was in position. Silva’s left-footed shot was deflected off the opponent’s defender and sucked into the goal.
The Urawa Reds also had a chance to score a goal. Front pressure caused Manchester City’s defense to make a mistake. He robbed Manchester City of a pass inside the penalty box, creating a scoring opportunity. However, the Stones defeated the chance to shoot. He had a chance to score inside the penalty box in the 80th minute of the second half, but was blocked by goalkeeper Ederson.
Seven clubs participated in this Club World Cup, including Manchester City, the winner of last season’s UEFA Champions League, six continental club competition champions, and host Saudi Arabia’s winner, Altihad. 사설 토토사이트
In the opening round, Al-Itihad beat Auckland City (New Zealand) 3-0 to reach the second round, and in the second round, Urawa Reds and Al-Ahli (Egypt) beat Klub Leon (Mexico) and Al-Itihad 1-0, 3-1 respectively to secure a ticket to the semifinals.
In the previous semifinal match, Fluminensee of Brazil advanced to the final by beating Al-Ahli 2-0. Al-Ahli was headed for the third place final. “We know how difficult it is to win this competition. It’s a trophy we didn’t get. We want to win every trophy we can,” Guardiola said.
Manchester City achieved the treble by winning the Premier League and the FA Cup last season before hoisting the big year for the first time. It was the first achievement in 15 years since the acquisition by the capital of the United Arab Emirates in 2008. It took seven years for Guardiola, who took office in 2016.
Manchester City is the ninth club in Europe to achieve a treble. Prior to Manchester City, Scottish Celtic (1966-67), Netherlands Ajax (1971-72), PSV Eindhoven (1987-88), England Manchester United (1998-99), Spain FC Barcelona (2008-09, 2014-15), Italy Inter Milan (2009-10), and Germany Bayern Munich (2012-13, 2019-20) made the treble achievement.
Beyond last season’s treble, Manchester City is aiming at quadruple competition this season to add a trophy to its club’s World Cup championship. The team is ranking fourth with 34 points in the Premier League, five points behind leader Arsenal, and will pass Group G as first place with all six matches in the Champions League and meet FC Copenhagen (Denmark) in the round of 16. The team will also play in the third round against Huddersfield on January 7 next year.