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Soccer-Manchester City destroy Juve to top group at Club World Cup

Soccer-Manchester City destroy Juve to top group at Club World Cup

The Star8 hours ago

Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group G - Juventus v Manchester City - Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida, U.S. - June 26, 2025 Manchester City's Jeremy Doku celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) -Manchester City secured top spot in Group G of the Club World Cup with a 5-2 thrashing of Juventus on Thursday, exposing the Serie A side's defensive frailties in emphatic fashion.
With both teams already through to the knockout stage, City underlined their status as title favourites by becoming the only team to finish the group phase with three wins, showing flashes of their brilliant selves.
Pep Guardiola's side finished three points clear of Juventus, who will face the winners of Group H in the last 16.
Real Madrid can clinch that group later on Thursday with a win over RB Salzburg. Both Salzburg and Al-Hilal, who face already-eliminated Pachuca, remain in contention for qualification.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot in Miami; editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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Alonso's tactical shift sees Real Madrid top Group H with comfortable win over Salzburg
Alonso's tactical shift sees Real Madrid top Group H with comfortable win over Salzburg

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Alonso's tactical shift sees Real Madrid top Group H with comfortable win over Salzburg

PHILADELPHIA: New Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso introduced a bold tactical change as his side defeated RB Salzburg 3-0 on Thursday to finish as Group H winners and set up a mouth-watering last 16 tie against Juventus at the Club World Cup. Alonso, who arrived at Real with a reputation for innovative tactics following his trophy-laden stint at Bayer Leverkusen, fielded a five-man defence for the first time since taking over. The system, featuring three centre backs and aggressive wing backs, marked a significant departure from the traditional 4-3-3 formation used by predecessors Carlo 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. "We're taking it step-by-step," Vinicius Jr told DAZN. "Of course, we can't fully adapt to the coach's ideas so quickly, it takes time. But today was a good game for that, especially in the first half." Alonso had utilised a four-man defence in Real's earlier group matches, a 1-1 draw with Al Hilal and a 3-1 victory over Pachuca. On Thursday Aurelien Tchouameni was deployed between centre backs Antonio Ruediger and Dean Huijsen, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia operating as the wing backs. Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler played as creative midfielders with Federico Valverde in a holding role, while Vinicius Jr and Gonzalo Garcia led the attack. The tactical shift paid dividends as Real Madrid dominated proceedings. Bellingham and Guler consistently found Vinicius in dangerous positions and the Brazilian opened the scoring in the 40th minute, weaving past two defenders before firing into the bottom-right corner. He then assisted on Valverde's goal in first-half added time with a deft back-heeled pass. Forward Gonzalo Garcia sealed the win in the 84th minute, lobbing the Salzburg keeper to cap a swift counter-attack. The performance was a marked improvement from Real's earlier group matches, where they appeared unconvincing at times. "The first half was serious. We played patiently, knowing that we couldn't win in 10 minutes and that we had to be mature to find our opportunity," Alonso told reporters. "We started the second half well and, with the score at 3-0, I'm happy with the lads." Real Madrid next face Italy's Juventus in the round of 16 on Tuesday, when Alonso's tactical approach will come under greater scrutiny. He is expected to have forward Kylian Mbappe available after the Frenchman missed the group stage due to illness. "Let's wait and see, I don't want to get ahead of myself. We thought Kylian would be ready for this match, but it wasn't to be," Alonso said. "Now we have four days. I want to be optimistic, but also cautious."

Vinicius stars as Real Madrid ease into Club World Cup last 16
Vinicius stars as Real Madrid ease into Club World Cup last 16

The Sun

timean hour ago

  • The Sun

Vinicius stars as Real Madrid ease into Club World Cup last 16

VINICIUS Junior scored one goal and made another with a touch of class as Real Madrid sealed their place in the last 16 of the Club World Cup with a 3-0 win over Salzburg on Thursday. The Brazil star opened the scoring after a superb defence-splitting pass by Jude Bellingham on 40 minutes and then set up Federico Valverde for the all-important second goal in first-half stoppage time. Gonzalo Garcia wrapped up the win late on with his second goal of the tournament, and the result means Xabi Alonso's team end the first round of FIFA's new tournament unbeaten. They go through to the knockout stage as Group H winners on seven points, setting up a last-16 tie against Juventus in Miami on Tuesday. Salzburg go out as Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia progress in second place behind Real after defeating already eliminated Pachuca of Mexico 2-0 in Nashville. They play Manchester City in the last 16. Madrid are adjusting in the United States to life under new coach Alonso and were again without top scorer Kylian Mbappe, with the Frenchman thus far not having played at the Club World Cup as he recovers from illness. But there was still plenty of star appeal for the 64,811 fans who filled Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia almost to capacity -- they reserved their loudest cheers for Bellingham and spirits were not dampened by wet, fresh conditions as the blistering heatwave of recent days suddenly lifted. Alonso opts for back three Alonso opted, as during his time in charge of Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, for a back three with Aurelien Tchouameni in between Antonio Rudiger and Dean Huijsen. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia played as wing-backs. Real won 5-1 when the teams met in the Champions League in January with Vinicius scoring twice, and the Brazilian was again heavily involved in putting the Austrian team to the sword here. He was denied by goalkeeper Christian Zawieschitzky when clean through on 20 minutes, but made up for that by getting the breakthrough as the interval approached. The goal owed much to a fantastic pass by Bellingham which found Vinicius in between the two Salzburg centre-backs. He held off two chasing defenders and scored with an early left-foot shot low into the corner. It was a 22nd goal of the season in all competitions and one that delighted those backing Real in the crowd. Petar Ratkov had a chance for Salzburg after Arda Guler was dispossessed just outside his own area, but Real scored again to make it 2-0 almost on the half-time whistle. When a rather aimless pass forward by Guler was deflected by Salzburg's Mamady Diambou, Vinicius pounced on the loose ball and continued into the area before producing a clever back-heel to set up Valverde for the goal. Salzburg now needed a favour from Al Hilal to stay in the competition although they did continue to make a fight of it and had chances to reduce the deficit in the second half. Nevertheless they were picked off on the counter as Madrid got their third with six minutes of the 90 remaining. A ball forward by Alexander-Arnold should have been cut out by Joane Gadou but the young defender's touch was intercepted by Gonzalo Garcia and the young forward ran through before clipping a shot beyond the goalkeeper.

Soccer-Alonso's tactical shift sees Real Madrid top Group H with comfortable win over Salzburg
Soccer-Alonso's tactical shift sees Real Madrid top Group H with comfortable win over Salzburg

The Star

timean hour ago

  • The Star

Soccer-Alonso's tactical shift sees Real Madrid top Group H with comfortable win over Salzburg

Soccer Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Group H - RB Salzburg v Real Madrid - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. - June 26, 2025 Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso with RB Salzburg coach Thomas Letsch before the match REUTERS/Lee Smith PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) -New Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso introduced a bold tactical change as his side defeated RB Salzburg 3-0 on Thursday to finish as Group H winners and set up a mouth-watering last 16 tie against Juventus at the Club World Cup. Alonso, who arrived at Real with a reputation for innovative tactics following his trophy-laden stint at Bayer Leverkusen, fielded a five-man defence for the first time since taking over. The system, featuring three centre backs and aggressive wing backs, marked a significant departure from the traditional 4-3-3 formation used by predecessors Carlo 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. "We're taking it step-by-step," Vinicius Jr told DAZN. "Of course, we can't fully adapt to the coach's ideas so quickly, it takes time. But today was a good game for that, especially in the first half." Alonso had utilised a four-man defence in Real's earlier group matches, a 1-1 draw with Al Hilal and a 3-1 victory over Pachuca. On Thursday Aurelien Tchouameni was deployed between centre backs Antonio Ruediger and Dean Huijsen, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia operating as the wing backs. Jude Bellingham and Arda Guler played as creative midfielders with Federico Valverde in a holding role, while Vinicius Jr and Gonzalo Garcia led the attack. The tactical shift paid dividends as Real Madrid dominated proceedings. Bellingham and Guler consistently found Vinicius in dangerous positions and the Brazilian opened the scoring in the 40th minute, weaving past two defenders before firing into the bottom-right corner. He then assisted on Valverde's goal in first-half added time with a deft back-heeled pass. Forward Gonzalo Garcia sealed the win in the 84th minute, lobbing the Salzburg keeper to cap a swift counter-attack. The performance was a marked improvement from Real's earlier group matches, where they appeared unconvincing at times. "The first half was serious. We played patiently, knowing that we couldn't win in 10 minutes and that we had to be mature to find our opportunity," Alonso told reporters. "We started the second half well and, with the score at 3-0, I'm happy with the lads." Real Madrid next face Italy's Juventus in the round of 16 on Tuesday, when Alonso's tactical approach will come under greater scrutiny. He is expected to have forward Kylian Mbappe available after the Frenchman missed the group stage due to illness. "Let's wait and see, I don't want to get ahead of myself. We thought Kylian would be ready for this match, but it wasn't to be," Alonso said. "Now we have four days. I want to be optimistic, but also cautious." (Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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