Manchester City in Club World Cup final against Fluminense
Manchester City will take on Brazilian side Fluminense in Friday’s Club World Cup final after beating Urawa Reds 3-0 last night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
City went ahead through a Marius Hoibraten own goal on the stroke of half-time after the Norwegian stretched to clear a cross but found his own netting.
Mateo Kovacic netted his first goal for Manchester City since moving from Chelsea after teammate Kyle Walker threaded a stunning pass to the feet of the Croatian, who clipped the ball into the top corner.
Bernardo Silva put the match beyond any doubt in the 59th minute. The Portuguese footballer found the ball after the Urawa Red Diamonds’ goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa could only parry a Matheus Nunes shot.
Silva collected the ball on the edge of the box before finding the back of the net via a deflection off the Japanese club’s defensive line.
Five for Manchester City?
Manchester City can win their fifth trophy of the calendar year – following on from the 2022-23 Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League as well as the Uefa Super Cup – with victory over Fluminense on Friday.
Neither Manchester City or Fluminense have won this trophy before so a new name is guaranteed to lift the title come Friday evening.
Yesterday’s game was the first for Manchester City at the Club World Cup having qualified with their first Champions League victory earlier in the season.
Fluminense also won their only game of the tournament thus far with a 2-0 victory over Egyptian side Al Ahly, who toppled home favourites Al-Ittihad earlier in the tournament.
Guardiola’s personal record in the Club World Cup currently sits at 100 per cent.
He won the tournament in 2009 and 2011 with Barcelona and in 2013 with Bayern Munich.