10 hours ago
Club World Cup: Erik apologises to Al Ain fans after big defeat to Man City
Al Ain's Brazilian defender Erik Jorgens de Menezes has apologised to fans following the team's 6-0 defeat to Premier League giants Manchester City in a Group G clash at the Club World Cup on Monday.
Needing at least a draw in Atlanta to stay alive in the tournament, Al Ain failed to cope with the class and the tempo of the 10-time English champions on the field.
Veteran German international Ilkay Gundogan scored the first goal for City before Claudio Echeverri, the 19-year-old Argentinian, found the back of the net with a stunning free kick.
Norwegian star striker Erland Haaland put City in command with the team's third goal in the stoppage time of the first half.
City continued to press for goals in the second half as Gundogan scored his second of the match in the 74th minute before substitutes Oscar Bobb and Rayan Cherki completed the demolition job.
In the expanded 32-team tournament, it was always going to be a challenge for clubs from Asia and Africa to give the European powerhouses a run for their money.
However, Erik insisted that the battle between City and Al Ain would not have been one-sided if they had not made some defensive errors.
'At this high level of competition, there is no room for negligence and mistakes. We had committed some mistakes in our first match (against Juventus), and some of those mistakes were repeated in today's match,' the Brazilian said.
'In a mega event like this, even the smallest details can make the difference. And if you ignore that, it's difficult to earn a positive result.'
Al Ain, who had lost their first match to Italian club Juventus 5-0, are now out of the tournament.
The 14-time UAE champions have only the pride to play for in their inconsequential Group G match against Moroccan club Wydad Casablanca on June 26.
'I deeply apologise from the bottom of my heart. Al Ain fans know me very well, so they are well aware that from the first day for me with the team I have been dreaming of claiming the mega accomplishments and playing some big matches,' Erik said.
Meanwhile, Moroccan winger Nassim Al Chadli hoped the team would put up a much better display in their final match of the tournament against Wydad on Thursday.
'We play for Al Ain Football Club, which is one of the biggest teams in Asia. So we have to only look for a victory in the last game,' he said.
'We have three or four days to prepare ourselves, so we will be doing our best for the sake of claiming three points from the match.'
City manager Guardiola, on the other hand, showered high praise on Echeverri after the Argentine dazzled on his first start for the club since joining from River Plate.
"He's an incredible player, a big, big talent in small spaces. I'm happy for him because it was a great goal,' the Spanish coach said.
