UEFA’s representatives Manchester City have made it to their first ever FIFA Club World Cup final after defeating Asia’s Urawa Reds in the semifinals on Tuesday
In a not-so-surprising turn of events, the European treble winners Manchester City thrashed Japanese side, Urawa Reds, who were representing the AFC, to progress to the final.
The Cityzens qualified for their first ever Club World Cup tournament when they beat Inter Milan in May 2023 to win the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League.
Their first triumph in Europe took them straight to the semi finals of the FIFA CWC because of UEFA’s high coefficient. Their challengers for the final spot, Urawa Reds, had to dispatch CONCACAF’s representative Club Leon of Mexico in the second round to set up the match.
City would prove too much for them and King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, would witness a masterclass from Pep Guardiola’s men. The score at the end of the night was 3 – 0 to send Urawa Reds to the third place match against CAF’s representative Al Ahly of Egypt.
City, meanwhile, will meet CONMEBOL’s representative, Fluminese of Brazil in the final on Friday 20 December 2023.
City were without Erling Haaland on Tuesday when they faced Urawa. The Norwegian’s injury continues to be a headache for the Cityzens but luckily for them, his absence mattered little.
However, they would have fared better in front of attack as many of their earlier chances were not converted easily because of his absence.
An own goal got them started before strikes from Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva completed the rout.
Unfortunately, they will not be able to match Barcelona’s and Bayern Munich’s achievement from 2009 and 2020 respectively by winning six trophies in a calendar year. This is because they missed out on the EFL (Carabao) Cup which their neighbours, Man United, won.
This is also assuming the triumph over Fluminese come Friday.
Guardiola reserved praise for Bernardo Silva whose influence was vital in City’s second half resurgence against Urawa Reds on Tuesday.
“Bernardo can play everywhere, when he went to the right the team made a step forward,” Guardiola said. “He can change the game with his actions.”
The Spanish tactician also praised Phil Foden for his impact on the game. “Phil felt more comfortable in the middle and Bernardo felt more comfortable on the wing”, Guardiola added. “We put Phil more centre forward, he turned and attacked incredible really well the last line.”
