
Curse of the TV pundits! Man City experts' predictions instantly come back to haunt them in shock Club World Cup collapse
Pep Guardiola 's side were dumped out by their Saudi opponents in Orlando after a thrilling 4-3 game.
A trio working for DAZN in their TV studio had bullishly given their scoreline predictions ahead of kick-off.
Former Manchester City and Arsenal full-back Gael Clichy thought his old side would triumph 3-0 - anticipating that Simone Inzaghi's men wouldn't get on the scoresheet.
Newcastle striker Callum Wilson then agreed Al-Hilal would draw a blank, predicting City to win 2-0.
And Shay Given, who played in goal 50 times for City during his long career, simply said 'too strong' and went along with his colleagues.
But their confidence in the former Premier League champions was misplaced. Al-Hilal tore City's defence apart on multiple occasions.
Erling Haaland appeared to pick up a thigh injury, while Rodri came on and was then brought off on a chastening night for City.
Afterwards, Guardiola lamented the fact that the performance did not match up to the feeling among the group.
'It's too early to say but I saw many good things I didn't see in the past,' he said.
'Especially the way we were, the relation between the players. It's sad because I felt that we were happy here. The training sessions have been really good. It's a pity, the vibes have been good.'
Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden came on later in the game and combined for a superb goal to make it 3-3 in extra time.
But then Marcos Leonardo bundled home in the 112th minute to give Al-Hilal the victory that sees them progress to the last eight.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
a minute ago
- The Independent
Tom Lockyer close to football return after suffering cardiac arrest on the pitch
Former Luton captain Tom Lockyer has revealed he is 'four weeks away' from being allowed to play football again. Lockyer has not played since suffering a cardiac arrest during Luton's Premier League game against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium in December 2023. The 30-year-old Wales defender had previously collapsed on the field just seven months earlier during the Hatters' Sky Bet Championship play-off final win at Wembley against Coventry. Lockyer, speaking ahead of Luton's opening Sky Bet League One fixture against AFC Wimbledon at Kenilworth Road, told Sky Sports: 'I haven't had a break, I've been working all the way through, just trying to get this ankle right and trying to get fit. 'But I've had a really good few weeks and hopefully now I'm four weeks away from getting signed off and told I'm allowed to play football again.' Luton, relegated in May for the second successive season, told Lockyer his contract would not be renewed when it expired this summer. But they have allowed him to use their facilities and work with their physios and medical staff during his rehabilitation. The former Bristol Rovers centre-back, who led Luton to Premier League promotion in 2023, added: 'They've been fantastic and have allowed me to come in and use the facilities and the knowledge of all the physios, so I can't thank them enough for that. 'It allows me to stay among the team spirit – there's a good one here. There's been a few changes, but they're trying to hold on to that ethos that no-one is bigger than the team and I absolutely love that. 'It's allowed me to go in every day, still be around it, still feel involved and I'm just itching to get back now.' Lockyer, who has had a defibrillator fitted similar to former Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen, snapped an ankle ligament during his return to full fitness, which required two operations.


BBC News
2 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Good signings have made the squad stronger'
We asked for your views on how St Mirren are shaping up for the new season, which gets under way with a trip to champions Celtic on what some of you said: James: Every season fills us with expectations but we Buddies never take anything for granted. With a settled backroom team helping with consistency and a squad that has been enhanced by new additions we can hope for another keenly-fought season. As usual, the question of a consistent goalscorer has still to be addressed but our form over the last few seasons bodes well and we can all look forward for our next St Mirren will do well again this season. Good signings have made the squad stronger and with the expertise of Stephen Robinson, Saints could move up one or even two places in the We have already been top six three years in a row, it's going to be very difficult to make it four, but fingers and toes crossed.


BBC News
2 minutes ago
- BBC News
Excitement & nerves over Well's 'new-look approach'
We asked for your views on how Motherwell are shaping up for the new season, which kicks off with the visit of Rangers on what some of you said: George: Looking forward to a new-look approach from Motherwell. However, a bit nervous about the central defence playing out from the back, that area of the team needs First few games will be difficult but with a few more additions hopeful of a decent Recruitment wise so far I've been fairly pleased with the business we have done, centre-half is still a concern as I feel we need to improve that in order to fully adapt to the manager's style of play and we probably could do with another midfielder with the imminent departure of Lennon Miller. Would like to see another striker with a bit of experience come in, if we could do that then I would be more than happy with the squad for the season.