City wins in a leisurely manner with half an hour from Rodri
Lackluster, as has been the trend in this first Club World Cup, Manchester City dispatched Wydad Casablanca in a dull 2-0 match with a lot of yawning on the pitch at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. A goal from Foden and another from Docu served to put an end to the debut of Pep Guardiola's team , who sat quietly on his bench as his team watched, highlighted by the debuts of some of the high-profile signings (they spent 350 million between January and June) that they have made for this competition.
From the start, Cherki (36.5) and Reijnders (55) came on, the former in the unusual position of false nine. It wasn't a fluid City side, who even had fewer chances than the Moroccans in the first half, although their dominance in the boxes prevailed. Foden opened the scoring in the third minute. Doku's cross from the left was denied by the defense, but Savinho's shot, poorly cleared by Benabid, reached Foden who, with the keeper beaten, only had to tap it into the net with his left foot.
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All those jitters from the defeat, as has happened to clubs like Inter Milan and Dortmund, who only drew against lesser opponents, were quickly dispelled. City played most of the first half in their own half, but once again showed a lack of defensive balance. Every loss opened the door for Wydad, who had their chances. In the 11th minute, a stinging cross from Moufid was missed by Mailula. And in the 22nd, the Africans had their clearest chances, with a double cutback from Lorch who failed to make the pass back. Another error from Vitor Reis, minutes later, left Lorch alone against Ederson, who prevented the equalizer.
City, who had also had their chances, such as a Savinho shot that was saved by the Wydad goalkeeper with a superb save, found their reward in the most unexpected way, with a corner taken by Foden and finished by Doku at the far post. It was 2-0. Red carpet to victory.
After the break, everything was decided . The stadium was packed with fans, and at times, they even showed their discontent because the scoreboard didn't move and the play was dull. The sun attacked more than the other teams, and even Haaland had a Marbella red face.
The important thing was the return of Rodrigo Hernández, who played more than 30 minutes after enjoying seven minutes against Bournemouth in the last Premier League matchday.
With two minutes left, the referee sent off Rico Lewis with a straight red card for an aggressive tackle in which he touched the ball but ran over the Moroccan player with his other foot. The final straw for a dull, dull match.
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