Manchester City open Club World Cup campaign with an easy win against Wydad

Time of India

5 hours ago

Phil Foden
struck inside the opening two minutes to fire
Manchester City
to an easy 2-0 victory over
Wydad Casablanca
in their
Club World Cup
opener on Wednesday at
Lincoln Financial Field
in Philadelphia.
Jeremy Doku
added a second before the break, helping City cruise past the Moroccan champions in front of a 37,446-strong crowd.
City's afternoon was slightly soured by a late red card in the 88th minute to
Rico Lewis
for a reckless challenge, but manager
Pep Guardiola
expressed his satisfaction with the winning start.
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"It is so hot. The humidity is not easy. We had good moments, many new players. The first game in this group stage is always really, really important. I saw many, many good things," Guardiola said.
Foden put City ahead early, reacting quickly after Wydad goalkeeper Mehdi Benabid parried Savinho's cross, and firing a first-time shot into the net.
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City extended their advantage just before the break when Foden swung in a precise corner, catching the Wydad defence off guard as Doku arrived unmarked at the far post to volley home.
— FIFACWC (@FIFACWC)
City have arrived at the Club World Cup determined to put a frustrating season behind them.
While their opener against Wydad - third-place finishers in the Moroccan league - posed little challenge, tougher tests lie ahead. City will next face UAE side
Al Ain
before wrapping up Group G with a clash against
Juventus
.
Guardiola used the match as a chance to rotate his squad, handing debuts to new arrivals Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, while teenage defender Vitor Reis was given just his third outing since joining the club in January.
For Wydad, the challenge was always going to be steep—made even tougher by the fact that coach Amine Benhachem had only taken charge shortly before the tournament began.
"Before the game I told the players not to be afraid. That if we were going to lose we would lose our way," said Benhachem.
"Nobody likes to lose, but we showed good spirit and we have something to work on for the second match."