Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City followed up their opening win over Wydad AC with a dominant display against Al-Ain, cruising to a 5-0 victory to secure a place in the Club World Cup last 16. However, they will need to beat Juventus in their final group match to top Group G and avoid a potential showdown with the winners of Real Madrid’s group.
City opened the scoring just eight minutes in through Ilkay Gundogan, whose attempted chipped cross looped over the goalkeeper and into the net. The German midfielder added a second with a composed dinked finish in the second half.
In between Gundogan’s goals, Claudio Echeverri marked his first start with a stunning free-kick from the edge of the box, curling the ball beautifully past the wall and keeper. Josko Gvardiol nearly added another moments later, heading against the post as City threatened to overwhelm their opponents early on.
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City extended their lead to 3-0 before the break when Erling Haaland calmly converted a penalty after Ramy Rabia fouled Manuel Akanji in the area — a decision awarded following a VAR review.
In the second half, Oscar Bobb came off the bench to cut inside and rifle in a sharp finish at the near post, while fellow substitute Rayan Cherki bagged his first goal for the club with a powerful low strike late on.
Al-Ain, winners of the 2024 Asian Champions League under former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo, were outclassed on the night. Now managed by ex-Watford boss Vladimir Ivic, they were simply no match for Guardiola’s relentless City side.
