Manchester City thrashes Juventus in statement win
Manchester City produced an attacking masterclass to defeat Juventus 5-2 at the FIFA Club World Cup, finishing top of Group G as the only team to have won all three of its matches.
Both teams came into the contest with maximum points, but it was Pep Guardiola's side that came out on top as it ran riot at the Camping World Stadium.
Jeremey Doku saw his ninth-minute opener quickly cancelled out by Teun Koopmeiners, who capitalised on a mistake by Ederson when trying to play out from the back.
City restored its lead in the 26th minute through Pierre Kalulu's comical own-goal, with substitute Erling Haaland bundling home his team's third seven minutes after half-time.
Phil Foden marked his introduction with a goal three minutes after entering the action, before Savinho's stunning strike from distance all but sealed the victory.
Juventus netted a late consolation thanks to Dusan Vlahovic, but it mattered little as City cruised to victory, setting up a clash with the runner-up of Group H in the next round, which will either be Real Madrid or RB Salzburg.
The result saw Guardiola maintain his perfect record at the FIFA Club World Cup. He has won all 11 of the games he has overseen in the competition, outscoring his opponents 38-4.
After a difficult season in 2024-2025, Guardiola lauded his side's display and believes it will help it grow in confidence as it looks to reach the latter stages of the tournament.
"I liked the way we did it," Guardiola said. "It has been a long time since we had a performance like this on and off the ball. The players were committed, and we are happy to beat a top side.
"This is just one game, but I think the players felt again what it was like to be a good team. The belief always comes from your performances, not your past."
City will face the runners-up of Group H, Real Madrid, after it thrashed RB Salzburg 3-0.
City captain Bernardo Silva urged his players to remain ready for its Round of 16 clash.
"I think we are very happy with what we did today," he said.
"Against a top team, we managed to control the game to keep the ball.
"It is good, but it doesn't count much now. It is kill or be killed. We have to be ready for this next stage of important games."
For Tudor and Juventus, it was a damaging defeat, having taken maximum points from their first two group games.
Tudor conceded that Guardiola's team was on a "different level" to his side.
"Manchester City are too much for us," he confessed. "Congratulations to them, it's an ugly result and we don't like it.
"They have enormous quality, character, everything. We wanted to push forward, but we couldn't get the ball back off them.
"Then we sat too deep and they scored. At this moment, they are at a different level to us."
In the other group fixture taking place, Al Ain picked up its first win of the tournament after coming from behind to beat Wydad AC 2-1.
Cassius Mailula's early strike had given Wydad the lead, but goals either side of half-time from captain Kodjo Laba and Alejandro Romero completed the comeback.
