Latest news with #VitorReis
IOL News
8 hours ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Thembinkosi Lorch may spark Bafana recall after impressing for Wydad against Manchester City in Club World Cup
Manchester City's Vitor Reis tries to get the ball off Wydad Casablanca's Thembinkosi Lorch (right). Photo: AFP Image: AFP Thembinkosi Lorch continued his resurgence with another eye-catching display for Wydad Athletic Club, even as the Moroccan giants fell 2-0 to Manchester City in their opening Fifa Club World Cup fixture on Wednesday night. Facing the former English champions in their group-stage opener, Wydad were always in for a tough night, but the 31-year-old South African winger emerged as one of the few bright sparks in an otherwise frustrating outing. The former Orlando Pirates star looked lively from the outset, offering an attacking threat both wide and on the inside, and remained one of Wydad's more consistent outlets throughout the 90 minutes. The result leaves Wydad with plenty to do in their remaining group-stage fixture if they are to keep their tournament hopes alive, but Lorch's individual performance gave South African fans reason to be optimistic. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ In contrast, fellow countryman Cassius Mailula endured a more difficult evening. Starting upfront as the focal point of Wydad's attack, the young forward struggled to influence proceedings, largely due to a lack of service. He was withdrawn at halftime as the technical team sought to spark a second-half comeback. City, despite fielding a rotated side without several key players, showed their pedigree early. Phil Foden opened the scoring within two minutes – one of the fastest goals in Club World Cup history – capitalising on a lapse in Wydad's defensive shape. Just before halftime, Jeremy Doku's quick feet carved open the Moroccan defence again, with City doubling their lead and effectively killing off the contest before the interval. To Wydad's credit, they refused to sit back. They pressed high and tried to assert their style, but their energy lacked end-product. Moments of promise often faded without the clinical final ball, and City's composure and control ensured the result never truly looked in doubt. Still, the 31-year-old Lorch remained a threat, particularly in the first half. His touches were purposeful, his runs intelligent, and his confidence increasingly evident – a far cry from the player who had struggled for game-time at Mamelodi Sundowns just months ago. His loan move to Wydad has breathed new life into his career. Under the initial guidance of Rulani Mokwena and now Amine Benhachem, he has grown in influence and consistency, rediscovering the form that once made him a stand-out for Pirates and a regular in the national team set-up. A lot of credit must go to Mokwena, who showed faith in the former Pirates player and took him along during his initial stint with the Moroccan giants. Even in Mokwena's absence, the quality in the player continues to shine through, and he could once again become a key figure even in the national team.
Express Tribune
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Pep Guardiola hails new City signings
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola hailed the impact of the new signings who came straight into the team for the 2-0 win over Wydad Casablanca in their opening match at the Club World Cup on Wednesday. Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and France attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki both started the game on a hot afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia after joining in the run-up to the tournament from AC Milan and Lyon respectively. "He is a really, really good player. You feel it, you smell it. The pace, in the final third, with the ball, when he will get a little bit more rhythm, he will be top," Guardiola said of Reijnders, 26, who played the whole game in sapping conditions. Brought in to help fill the huge void left by Kevin De Bruyne's departure, the 21-year-old Cherki lasted an hour before being substituted as City eased to victory in the Group G contest thanks to first-half goals by Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku. "Of course Kevin is difficult to replace, we know that, for the quality that he has," Guardiola said. "There is no doubt about that but at the same time the club decided on Rayan because he has incredible skills close to the box, incredible vision, many things. "This was just the first game, in really tough conditions, and I am really pleased he is here."There was an experimental look to the City line-up against the Moroccan side, with young Brazilian defender Vitor Reis starting for just the third time since signing in January while Nathan Ake made a first appearance for his club since late February. The five most-used outfield players for City over the course of the last campaign — Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan — were all on the bench at kick-off. New signing Rayan Ait-Nouri was an unused substitute, but Guardiola suggested that he will change almost his entire team for the next game, against Al Ain in Atlanta on Sunday. "We had new players, players playing in different positions. Vitor Reis played a really good game, Nathan Ake was three, four or five months without playing, so many players we needed to give them minutes," Guardiola said. "The next game 10 new players (are) going to be there and we will try to win the next one." City will be without Rico Lewis due to suspension for the clash with Al Ain after he was sent off late on against Wydad. If that was a source of frustration for the coach, Foden's performance was encouraging as the England star scored the first goal and made the second. "Obviously last season wasn't the best for me so I put it in my head to start the season strong and I am happy today that I managed to score and get an assist and help the team win," said Foden. "Last season was a bit rough for all of us but it is about trying to go again this season, with the new signings to help us, and trying to win trophies again."
Straits Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Pep Guardiola hails new signings as Man City survive ‘tough conditions'
– Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hailed the impact of the new signings who came straight into the team for the 2-0 win over Wydad AC in their opening match at the Club World Cup on June 18. Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and France attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki both started the game on a hot afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia after joining in the run-up to the tournament from AC Milan and Lyon respectively. 'He is a really, really good player. You feel it, you smell it. The pace, in the final third, with the ball, when he will get a little bit more rhythm, he will be top,' Guardiola said of Reijnders, 26. Brought in to help fill the huge void left by Kevin de Bruyne's departure, the 21-year-old Cherki lasted an hour before being substituted as City eased to victory in the Group G contest thanks to first-half goals by Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku. 'Of course Kevin is difficult to replace, we know that, for the quality that he has,' Guardiola added. 'There is no doubt about that but at the same time the club decided on Rayan because he has incredible skills close to the box, incredible vision, many things. 'This was just the first game, in really tough conditions, and I am really pleased he is here.' There was an experimental look to the City line-up against the Moroccan side, with young Brazilian defender Vitor Reis starting for just the third time since signing in January while Nathan Ake made a first appearance for his club since late February. The five most-used outfield players for City over the course of the last campaign – Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan – were all on the bench at kick-off. Another new signing Rayan Ait-Nouri was an unused substitute, but Guardiola suggested that he will change almost his entire team for the next game, against Al Ain in Atlanta on June 22. 'We had new players, players playing in different positions. Vitor Reis played a really good game, Nathan Ake was three, four or five months without playing, so many players we needed to give them minutes,' he said. 'The next game 10 new players (are) going to be there and we will try to win the next one.' City will be without Rico Lewis due to suspension for the clash with Al Ain after he was sent off late on against Wydad. In another match, Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao both scored twice as Juventus made a statement with a dominant 5-0 win over Emirati club Al-Ain. Kolo Muani grabbed both of his goals in the first half, Conceicao scored either side of the break while Turkey forward Kenan Yildiz also found the net. AFP, REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
IOL News
a day ago
- Sport
- IOL News
'Productive' Thembinkosi Lorch earns praise despite loss to Manchester City
Manchester City defender Vitor Reis tries to get the ball off Wydad Casablanca's South African forward Thembinkosi Lorch during the FIFA Club World Cup Group G match. Image: FRANCK FIFE / AFP Former Orlando Pirates forward Thembinkosi Lorch has been lauded for his industrious performance for Wydad Athletic Club in their FIFA Club World Cup match against Premier League giants Manchester City. Phil Foden scored inside two minutes and wing Jeremy Doku was also on target as Manchester City cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win in their opening match. But it was South African Lorch who ended up being the talk of the town. The clash against City was always going to be a big ask for Wydad, whose coach Amine Benhachem was only appointed in the run-up to the Club World Cup after replacing former Mamelodi Sundowns boss Rhulani Mokwena. However, they showed some spirit, led by a lively display from Lorch up front Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Wydad, who qualified as a recent winner of the CAF Champions League, did have chances to give their passionate support something to celebrate. When new Man City signing Rayan Cherki gave the ball away cheaply, Lorch produced an audacious attempt to beat Ederson from inside his own half. However, the Brazilian goalkeeper made the save. Lorch set up fellow South African Cassius Mailula after some skilful play, but the former Sundowns man squandered the opportunity. After the match, former Bafana Bafana stars and SuperSport pundits Shaun Bartlett and Bongani Khumalo praised Lorch's performance against such formidable opponents. "He had quite a productive day on the field. I was quite disappointed when they took him off, obviously managing him as a player," Bartlett said during SuperSport TV's live broadcast.
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Guardiola hails new signings as Man City survive 'tough conditions'
PHILADELPHIA: Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola hailed the impact of the new signings who came straight into the team for the 2-0 win over Wydad Casablanca in their opening match at the Club World Cup on Wednesday. Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and France attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki both started the game on a hot afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia after joining in the run-up to the tournament from AC Milan and Lyon respectively. "He is a really, really good player. You feel it, you smell it. The pace, in the final third, with the ball, when he will get a little bit more rhythm, he will be top," Guardiola said of Reijnders, 26, who played the whole game in sapping conditions. Brought in to help fill the huge void left by Kevin De Bruyne's departure, the 21-year-old Cherki lasted an hour before being substituted as City eased to victory in the Group G contest thanks to first-half goals by Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku. "Of course Kevin is difficult to replace, we know that, for the quality that he has," Guardiola said. "There is no doubt about that but at the same time the club decided on Rayan because he has incredible skills close to the box, incredible vision, many things. "This was just the first game, in really tough conditions, and I am really pleased he is here." There was an experimental look to the City line-up against the Moroccan side, with young Brazilian defender Vitor Reis starting for just the third time since signing in January while Nathan Ake made a first appearance for his club since late February. The five most-used outfield players for City over the course of the last campaign – Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan – were all on the bench at kick-off. New signing Rayan Ait-Nouri was an unused substitute, but Guardiola suggested that he will change almost his entire team for the next game, against Al Ain in Atlanta on Sunday. "We had new players, players playing in different positions. Vitor Reis played a really good game, Nathan Ake was three, four or five months without playing, so many players we needed to give them minutes," Guardiola said. "The next game 10 new players (are) going to be there and we will try to win the next one." City will be without Rico Lewis due to suspension for the clash with Al Ain after he was sent off late on against Wydad. If that was a source of frustration for the coach, Foden's performance was encouraging as the England star scored the first goal and made the second. "Obviously last season wasn't the best for me so I put it in my head to start the season strong and I am happy today that I managed to score and get an assist and help the team win," said Foden.
