🔎 The Debrief as Man City and Juve cruise whilst Trent struggles on debut
The first round of group games were completed overnight with all 32 teams now having played once.
Here's what happened.
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What happened? 📝
Manchester City got their tournament underway with a fairly routine 2-0 win over Moroccan giants Wydad. First half goals from Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku were enough to hand Pep Guardiola's side all three points.
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Xabi Alonso and Simone Inzaghi then took their debut bows in the Real Madrid and Al Hilal dugouts respectively, with the Saudi side holding the European giants to a 1-1 draw.
Red Bull Salzburg took advantage of those dropped points as they scored late on to beat Pachuca 2-1 and go top of Group H.
The final game of the evening saw Juventus run out comfortable 5-0 winners over Qatari club Al Ain, with Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceição both getting doubles.
Player of the day 🔥
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Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, otherwise known as 'Bono', was outstanding as he helped secure a point against Real Madrid.
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The Moroccan shot-stopper was equalled to six shots that Los Blancos fired his way, including a 92nd minute penalty from Federico Valverde.
Stat of the Day 📊
Xabi Alonso joined a select group of Real Madrid coaches who drew their first game in charge of the capital club.
What this means 🤔
Barring any major surprises, it looks as if Group G is all wrapped up with Juventus and Manchester City leading the way there.
The two European behemoths meet on June 26 in Orlando for what looks like a direct shoot-out as to who will finish top there.
In Group H, it's Salzburg who lead the way with Al Hilal and Real Madrid tussling out for second.
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A shock in Los Blancos' next game against Pachuca on June 22 would really open things up.
What they said 🗣️
Manchester City goalscorer Phil Foden admitted he was struggling with the Philadelphia heat during his side's win over Wydad: "I'm very happy for the team to start the tournament with a win. It was difficult at times with the heat. They were a top team on the counter-attacks. The tournament is very important, not just for me, but all the players. It is important to get your sharpness now in this big competition."
Xabi Alonso was critical of his Real Madrid side after their draw with Al Hilal: ""It's a mixed bag of feelings. It's a pity we weren't able to get the win. I didn't really enjoy our performance in the first half, to be honest. We played better in the second. We were more balanced and handled the ball better. I'll take that with me . We tried to play very fast in the first half and lost the ball a lot."
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Juventus boss Igor Tudor insisted there was still room for improvement despite his team's 5-0 victory: "We started really well. In the second half, I was still saying to slow down a bit because it's hot, to try to maybe manage a bit more. There, we could have done better, but yeah, it's an important result because this team has a lot of quality. It has interesting players."
What's next? 👀
There are four more games later today with Groups A and B really starting to take shape.
Palmeiras will take on Al Ahly in New Jersey whilst Inter Miami travel up to Atlanta for their match with Porto.
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Seattle Sounders then host Atlético de Madrid at their home stadium with Paris Saint-Germain taking on Brazilian giants Botafogo.
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