Manchester City booked their spot in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup after a resounding 3-0 win over Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday evening.
FIFA Club World Cup
Result: Urawa Reds 0-3 Manchester City
Date: 19 December 2023
Venue: King Abdullah Sports City
The Citizens were without the injured Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku and manager Pep Guardiola opted to play with Phil Foden in the centre forward position, with the support of Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes, in a strong line-up.
The Citizens were not without faults at the back in the opening exchanges but had warning shots from Rodri and Bernardo Silva that restored their dominance.
The English champions started to build momentum after that and Nunes nearly broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark with a looping strike that produced great reflexes from goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa.
City eventually got the breakthrough on the stroke of half-time after Marius Hoibraaten could not deal with a cross from Silva and scored into his own net.
Guardiola's charges had a perfect start in the second stanza as Mateo Kovacic doubled their lead seven minutes in with a strike over Nishikawa after he went sent through on goal by Kyle Walker.
The Citizens continued to keep their foot on the gas and Silva put them out of sight on the hour-mark with a deflected shot on the edge of the box from a rebound after Nishikawa parried a shot by Nunes.
Alvarez and Norwegian young winger Oscar Bobb were among a host of changes made by Guardiola after that, as they replaced by Foden and Silva for fresh legs in attack.
The Japanese side did not drop their heads, as they tried to fashion chances but shot-stopper Ederson was not giving anything away, as Man City booked their spot in the final against Copa Libertadores champions Fluminense on Friday.
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