CLUB WORLD CUP
Foden and Doku power second-string Man City past Wydad
Manchester City began their Club World Cup campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca in their Group G opener on Wednesday, courtesy of first-half goals from Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku.
Manager Pep Guardiola opted to start with several key players on the bench, including Erling Haaland, Rodri, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Josko Gvardiol and John Stones for what was a sweltering midday kickoff at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.
Despite fielding a second-string side, City needed less than two minutes to break the deadlock.
Phil Foden pounced after Savinho’s cross was parried by Wydad goalkeeper Mehdi Benabid, with the England midfielder striking a first-time effort into the net to hand City an early lead.
City doubled their advantage three minutes before halftime when Foden delivered a pinpoint corner and Jeremy Doku caught the Wydad defence napping to volley home at the far post.
City finished with 10 men after Rico Lewis was given a straight red card for a nasty studs-up sliding tackle on Samuel Obeng in the 88th minute.
Wydad, undeterred after conceding the early goal, showed resilience and threatened on the counter-attack and forward Cassius Mailula nearly equalised with an audacious lob from midfield in the 15th minute.
Moments later, Mohamed Moufid set up Thembinkosi Lorch with a low cross, but the South African forward just failed to get there in time with a sliding effort.
City also had chances to extend their lead before halftime. Omar Marmoush saw his strike from the edge of the box sail just wide, while Nathan Ake’s towering header from a corner went inches over the bar.
At the other end, Wydad squandered a golden opportunity in the 30th minute when Vitor Reis’s misplaced pass gifted the ball to Lorch, only for Mailula’s follow-up shot to be smothered by City keeper Ederson.
After City doubled their lead before the break, the second half saw a dramatic drop in tempo under the scorching midday sun, though City went close to adding a third through Rayan Cherki
The 21-year-old, signed from Olympique Lyonnais for 40 million euros ($46.06 million) ahead of the tournament, unleashed a shot from the edge of the area, only for Benabid to produce a fine save. The Moroccan keeper later denied substitute Haaland with a reflex save in a one-on-one.
City will now turn their attention to Sunday’s clash with United Arab Emirates side Al Ain, while Wydad face Juventus in their next Group G encounter
-Reuters
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Paris St Germain snatched a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich on Saturday to reach the Club World Cup semi-finals, with Ousmane Dembele embodying the composure of Luis Enrique’s side as he sealed the victory when his team were down to nine men.
Dembele found the back of the net six minutes into added time after being superbly set up by Achraf Hakimi and the French forward also shone defensively by pressing relentlessly and initiating the move that led to his decisive goal.
“I’d give the Ballon d’Or to Mr Ousmane Dembele,” coach Luis Enrique said after PSG’s Champions League final win over Inter Milan. “The way he defended…only that can be worth the Ballon d’Or. This is how you lead a team.”
Dembele proved his coach right once again against Bayern.
Rested for the group stage after sustaining a thigh injury and only coming off the bench after halftime in the last 16 and in the quarter-final, Dembele brought an incredible energy to a team who had been dominated by Bayern.
“It’s an important period for us. We had a score to settle with Bayern after the 2020 (Champions League) final (won by Bayern 1-0) and after they beat us earlier this season,” captain Marquinhos said. “We want to win this competition.”
PSG went ahead through Desire Doue, his first goal in the tournament.
“I try to help the team by scoring, but also with my efforts, notably defensively,” Doue said.
PSG, seeking a quadruple of titles after winning the Champions League, French Cup and the Ligue 1 title, will face Borussia Dortmund or Real Madrid for a place in the final.
They will be without centre back Willian Pacho and defender Lucas Hernandez, who picked up straight red cards after Doue’s opening goal.
“The first one is a clear red card,” coach Luis Enrique said. “I’m not sure about the second one. We deserved the win but it was really really hard. Nothing special. Business as usual.”
-Reuters
An 83rd-minute Weverton own goal from a deflected Malo Gusto cross gave Chelsea a nervy 2-1 win over a spirited Palmeiras side in the Club World Cup quarter-finals at Lincoln Financial Field on Friday.
Cole Palmer also got on the scoresheet in the first half for Chelsea, who move on to face more Brazilian opposition in Fluminense in New York on Tuesday with a place in the final on the line.
Palmeiras roared back after halftime with teenage winger Estevao, who is soon to join Chelsea, equalising in the 53rd minute with a stunning strike from a tight angle.
“Tough game as we expected,” said Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca. “First half, I think we were a little bit better compared to the second half, we controlled the game much better.
“But then they scored and the game changed but at the end we scored and I think we deserved to win. Congratulations to the players, because they have been very good.”
Chelsea started the match well despite missing key defensive midfield duo Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, with 21-year-old Andrey Santos making his first start some two and a half years after joining the club.
They controlled possession and repeatedly threatened through Pedro Neto, who caused chaos for Palmeiras defence down the right flank.
Palmer struck in the 16th minute, receiving a pass from Trevoh Chalobah on the edge of the box and gliding past three defenders with ease before dispatching a precise left-footed strike into the bottom corner.
Despite their dominance, Chelsea squandered several opportunities, including Christopher Nkunku’s glaring miss in the 34th minute when he blasted over with only goalkeeper Weverton to beat.
Palmeiras, missing key defenders Joaquin Piquerez, Gustavo Gomez and Murilo, struggled to contain Chelsea’s fluid attack in the first half but emerged from the break with renewed energy.
They nearly equalised when Bruno Fuchs headed narrowly wide from a corner before Estevao worked his magic with an effort that should be a strong candidate for goal of the tournament so far.
The 18-year-old showcased his immense talent by cutting in from the right, gliding past Levi Colwill and smashing an unstoppable shot from a tight angle that flew over keeper Robert Sanchez and off the underside of the crossbar.
“Happy because we won, happy because he scored, so it’s a perfect night,” Maresca said of his new signing.
Just when Palmeiras looked at their most dangerous, though, Chelsea found the winner down the other end.
Gusto found space down the left and his attempted cross deflected off defender Fuchs and wrongfooted Weverton, the ball bouncing off the goalkeeper’s back and into the net to end Palmeiras dreams of an all-Brazilian semi-final.
-Reuters
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The expanded soccer Club World Cup is proving to be a stage for managerial fresh starts, with three of the eight quarter-finalists led by coaches appointed just weeks before the tournament – and all three have already stamped their authority on their new teams.
Arguably none has made a bigger splash than Simone Inzaghi, who delivered one of the tournament’s biggest shocks when his Al Hilal side stunned Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City 4-3 in a breathtaking extra-time thriller.
The 49-year-old Italian, who left Inter Milan after their Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain just five weeks ago, got sweet revenge on Monday against the Premier League giants who had beaten his Nerazzurri in the 2023 Champions League final.
Inzaghi took the win by playing steady, rock-solid defence and exploring the speed of his forwards up-front with long balls that exploited their opponent’s aggressive, high-positioned defensive line.
Malcom and Marcos Leonardo were a constant menace on the counter-attack throughout the match, while his defenders managed to slow down City’s star-powered attack for most of the game.
And when they were threatened, Moroccan goalkeeper Bono worked his magic with a string of world-class saves to frustrate their opponents and keep the Saudis in the game.
Al Hilal’s reward is a quarter-final clash with tournament underdogs Fluminense, who defied the Opta supercomputer’s odds of just 0.05% to win the title and stunned Champions League runners-up Inter Milan 2-0 to reach the last eight.
Initially tipped to exit in the group stage, the Brazilian side’s remarkable run continues under Renato Gaucho, a former Fluminense striker and club legend who took charge three months ago. Renato has transformed a team that narrowly avoided relegation in 2024 into genuine contenders, with Colombian winger Jhon Arias emerging as a potential tournament MVP.
Against Inter, Fluminense showed the grit and determination that have defined their campaign with a remarkable Arias and striker German Cano once again making the difference.
Real Madrid complete the trio of new-manager success stories, with Xabi Alonso arriving a month ago to replace Carlo Ancelotti after a rare trophy-less season that included four consecutive defeats to Barcelona, including a humiliating 4-0 Clasico thrashing at the Bernabeu.
Arriving with a reputation for innovative tactics following his trophy-laden stint at Bayer Leverkusen, Alonso has started using a five-man defence, marking a significant departure from the traditional 4-3-3 formation used by predecessors Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane over the past decade.
The change evoked memories of Vicente del Bosque’s 2000 Champions League-winning side, the last Real Madrid team to adopt such a structure, as Real prepare to face Borussia Dortmund on Saturday off the back of three consecutive wins.
As the tournament progresses, the early success of these new managerial appointments suggests that fresh ideas and bold decisions can reshape even the most storied teams.
-Reuters
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