Rodri returned, ordered and won

Eight months later, Rodri felt important again. After his serious knee injury, the Spanish midfielder had already played some minutes, but this Thursday he started for the first time since that unfortunate incident in September of last year. The Ballon d'Or winner returned to the Manchester City command center, and the team noticed. Clearly, he lacks rhythm, and the match, against a top-flight opponent, Juventus, wasn't one of the most demanding.

Yes, it was a decisive match, but less so. Hence the lineups, full of theoretical substitutes. Already qualified for the round of 16 of this first Club World Cup, the Italians and English teams were fighting for first and second place. This is no small matter when the team that could be waiting for you in the next round is Real Madrid .

A draw was enough for Juve to finish top. They only had a chance of winning for the first eight minutes, until Doku made it 1-0, and for another 15 minutes, from Koopmeiners ' equaliser (11th minute) until Kalulu's own goal to make it 2-1 (26th minute). Then, in the second half, Haaland , fresh off the bench, doubled the lead (1-3, 52nd minute).

With the victory practically assured, Pep Guardiola wisely decided there was no need to push one of his key players any further. After a very encouraging 65 minutes, Rodri was substituted. He was sent off to a general round of applause from the Orlando crowd.

To clear any doubt, just five minutes later, Folden extended the lead (1-4). Savinho then completed the match with a stunning long-range right-footed shot (1-5, 69th minute). In the final moments, Vlaovic reduced the penalty slightly (2-5, 84th minute).

In the other match that closed out Group G, Al-Ain of the United Arab Emirates claimed a 2-1 victory over Wydad Casablanca . Mailula took the lead in the 4th minute, but Laba (1-1, 45th minute) and Kaku (50th minute) came back from the penalty spot.