Manchester City have been crowned Club World Champions for the first time. The Skyblues recorded a brilliant 4-0 win against Fluminense thanks to the strong play of Foden and Alvarez
Manchester City got off to a dream start at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah. Only 40 seconds had been played when the first sky-blue cheers erupted. Alvarez, who Pep Guardiola had named in the starting eleven after the 3-0 semi-final win over Urawa Red Diamonds, along with Ruben Dias and Lewis, was in the perfect position to push a clearance into the box with his chest.
Ederson in luck – City go up by an own goal
All in all, the spectators, including City goalkeeper Haaland, who was not registered for the competition due to his foot injury, saw a dominant start from the favorites, who then almost tripped themselves. Ederson’s misplaced pass blew up in the face of last season’s treble winner, before the goalkeeper also put Cano through (16). But the English side were lucky, as the center forward was offside
As a result, Fernando Diniz and his side, unchanged from their 2-0 semi-final win over Al-Ahly, had to concede 2-0 just over ten minutes later. Rodri found Foden, after whose shot Nino scored an own goal in an attempt to block the ball (27′).
A bitter setback, after which it took until shortly before the break before there were any further highlights: Ederson made a strong save against Arias (40′), as did Fabio at the other end against Grealish (42′).
Fabio prevents second lightning start
The second half started in almost the same way as the first 45 minutes – with a goal from a clearance for the favorites. In contrast to Alvarez’s opener, Fabio was able to save both Foden’s long-range shot and Bernardo Silva’s subsequent header from point-blank range (47′). The same was also true of another shot from Foden, which was preceded by a clever free-kick (52′).
Foden and Alvarez complete the Man City show
It was the eye-catching home-grown player who decided the game. After an inadequately cleared diagonal ball, Manchester City followed up and punished the mistake in the Brazilian rearguard with ice-cold precision. Alvarez crossed sharply into the middle and the man who paved the way for the second goal slid into the ball – 3:0 (72′). A goal that finally pulled the plug on the game, but did not end it. That task fell to the player who had already opened the scoring with his early goal. After a brief wobble against André, Alvarez finished dryly to make it 4:0 with his brace (88′).
However, the first-time Club World Cup winners from Manchester do not have much time to celebrate. After the Christmas holidays, the Skyblues are already back in action in the Premier League at home. On Wednesday evening, Foden and Co. play host to Everton FC. Meanwhile, Fluminense, who are at the end of a long season, have their next title opportunity in sight – but not until February next year. The final matches of the Recopa Sudamericana, the South American Super Cup, will be played on February 21 and 28.
