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New York Times
2 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
How Manchester City dismantled Juventus with straight passes and diagonal runs
Manchester City look like themselves again. Not because Rodri is back, not because they are the only team at the Club World Cup who ended with a perfect group-stage record, but because Pep Guardiola's side are carving teams apart from out wide again. 'I liked the way we did it,' Guardiola said after the 5-2 win against Juventus. Advertisement Their opponents had only conceded eight in 11 games under Igor Tudor before facing City. The prospect of trying to cut open a stubborn 5-4-1 block in the Orlando heat could have become torturous quite quickly. City made it look rather easy, even without Erling Haaland for the first 45 minutes. Omar Marmoush was the focal point instead. Juventus mixed their out-of-possession approach — man-to-man in the high press, and a 5-4-1 mid-block where the centre-backs were relatively touch-tight but the midfielders defended zonally — and City showed flexibility too. When building up in their own half, Jeremy Doku and Savinho, City's wingers, drifted inside and became No 10s close to Marmoush. This made space for full-backs Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri to push on. The risk was leaving big spaces out wide that could be exploited in transition, by Juventus' wing-backs especially. Guardiola, as he always will be, was full of praise when this did not happen. He loved 'the patience to make a lot of passes to be calm.' Savinho and Doku's narrow positioning looked to be less about getting them on the ball centrally and more about pinning Juventus' outside centre-backs deep. This would create a problem when a midfielder wanted to jump and press a City defender — it would create space for Rodri, Bernardo Silva or Tijjani Reijnders. In Juventus' half, City flipped their wide scheme. The wingers went wide and full-backs narrow. This gave extra cover and set Doku and Savinho up for one-v-one scenarios. City were good at not rushing crossing scenarios (just four in the first 27 minutes), partly because it made less sense without Haaland, and they could wear Juventus down with a short passing game and off-ball runs. That desire for quality runners is something City have recruited for. Last December, about halfway through the Premier League season, (when adjusted for possession) they had attempted the fewest overlaps and and fewest passes to runners in-behind. Advertisement This game, and the first three goals, showed the added quality that comes from Doku when he has Ait-Nouri's attacking support, and how effective a pairing Nunes and Savinho are. City's opener came in classic fashion. Often, the best time to pick the lock of a compact defence is when the defence jumps as the attacking side recycles the ball. Here, Ait-Nouri becomes a second No 6 as play is connected from right to left: Nunes, to Rodri, to Ait-Nouri. If the passage seems harmless enough, that's because it is. But this move was 2021-22 City-esque in bringing the tempo of the game down before immediately slicing opponents open. Ait-Nouri recognises wing-back Alberto Costa is jumping forward to Doku. He is so focused on shutting the Belgian down that he moves outside the vertical line of the ball. The Algerian international splits the back line inside Costa, with a straight pass for Doku's diagonal run. Doku cuts in and curls a far-post finish beyond Michele Di Gregorio. City have good box occupation too: Savinho has locked off the back post for rebounds, Marmoush is on the penalty spot and Rodri has arrived late should a cutback be on. City's second came 15 minutes after Teun Koopmeiners had equalised following an Ederson error playing out against the press; there were multiple times he picked a bad pass and executed it poorly, but City more than compensated in attack. On one of the rare occasions that Juventus doubled up out wide, City exploited it. Savinho and Rodri are playing two-v-three, and there is little protection for Juventus in the left half-space. This makes Nunes the dangerous runner from deep. Juventus are too passive, and Savinho has the time and space to thread a diagonal pass outside left wing-back Filip Kostic. Nunes makes the straight run behind Koopmeiners (a reverse of the straight pass and diagonal run from Doku for the opener). The approach play is excellent and earns the luck of an own goal from Pierre Kalulu. City have four plus Nunes in the box, fairly well-spaced, though nobody makes a penetrative run beyond the defensive line — the biggest downside to not having Haaland on the pitch. City completed four through balls against Juventus. They only managed more in three Premier League matches in 2024-25 and their most in a Champions League game last term was four away to Sparta Prague. Haaland came on at half-time and Nicolo Savona stayed deeper defending him. He almost scored within a minute of the restart when Bernardo slipped a diagonal pass for Savinho's straight run inside Savona, and his low back-post ball was just out of Haaland's reach. Advertisement The third goal was the pick of the bunch for how City manipulated and dismantled Juventus' man-for-man pressing. Here, City show flexibility again as Nunes has moved into midfield and Savinho is wide. Weston McKennie's jump to Ruben Dias forces the wide pass, and City's midfield rotates like clockwork. Nunes' run — for a possible first-time Savinho pass in behind — takes Koopmeiners away. This allows Reijnders to drop in and receive from Savinho. The Dutch international was marked by Kalulu, but ended up between two Juventus players and neither wanted to go with him. Reijnders drives to the edge of the final third in a five-v-five. Haaland has already moved into Savona's blind spot. Koopmeiners has done well to track Nunes' run but his body shape is awkward and — as with Costa for the first goal — he is outside the vertical line of the ball. A straight pass from Reijnders; a diagonal run from Nunes. The full-back gets his assist (his cross for Kalulu's own goal is not counted) for Haaland's tap-in. The win means City avoid Real Madrid in the round of 16. There is a potential for a repeat of the 2023 Champions League final in the quarter-finals: the winner of Inter and Fluminense face City or Al Hilal. 'It has been a long time since we had a performance like this on and off the ball,' Guardiola said. 'This is just one game, but I think the players felt again what it was like to be a good team. 'The belief always comes from your performances, not your past.' You can sign up to DAZN to watch every FIFA Club World Cup game for free.
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Erling Haaland hits 300th goal in Manchester City rout of Juventus at Club World Cup
Erling Haaland's 300th career goal graced this canter of a victory and Savinho's 75th-minute peach lit up a Manchester City display that will be noted by the other big guns aiming to claim the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup. The Brazilian's 20-yard shot pinballed off the bar to make it 5-1 and confirm that Juventus would lose and finish second. While Pep Guardiola's men remain in search of their smoothest rhythms, topping Group G is impressive, and Al-Hilal will not relish facing them in the last 16 at the far cooler 9pm kick-off time. The manager was delighted. 'Everybody gave an incredible performance,' said Guardiola. 'It has been a long time since we had a performance like this on and off the ball. The players were committed and we are happy to beat a top side. In the previous two games we won but were miles away. I'm really pleased because the players have to realise [and did today] what we have to do to get back to what we were the last decade.' For the attempt to beat Juve and make it three wins from three games, Rodri was handed a first start since last September's draw with Arsenal in which he suffered the anterior cruciate ligament injury that ruled him out until the season's closing moments. He lasted 65 minutes. 'He's the best player in the world,' said Guardiola. 'He was missed, that was clear. I'm happy hopefully he can help us a lot.' For City's opener Rodri tapped the ball to Rayan Aït-Nouri, who slipped in Jérémy Doku along the left channel: a sidestep created time and the cleanly struck finish gave Juve's goalkeeper, Michele Di Gregorio, no chance. Yet City's advantage was cancelled out immediately by a careless Ederson, whose pass found Teun Koopmeiners instead of a teammate. The Dutchman pounced and the goalkeeper's cheeks went as pink as his strip. It was as clownish as Pierre Kalulu's contribution when City regained the lead. A lightning Matheus Nunes run was located by Savinho. The right-back zipped the ball over and Kalulu, with no opponent near, panicked and turned the ball in. An own goal, sure, but one forced by this far sharper City. A 60-65% first period possession count was potent: Aït-Nouri, Doku, Nunes and Omar Marmoush, at centre-forward, swapped zones across City's front to cause havoc, the latter's pirouette-then-shot an illustration. Tijjani Reijnders, from deep, joined in too, serving a slicing ball to Savinho who cut inside but dribbled tamely at Di Gregorio. Then, a serious downpour cooled down all in temperatures of more than 30C (86F). The broiled crowd in Orlando – including Thomas Tuchel – appreciated it as much as the players, though the concern in Orange County can be dangerous electrical storms that halt games. But the rain eased, and Marmoush's fierce shot, tipped around a post by Di Gregorio, closed the half. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Haaland replaced Marmoush and a better-timed stab at Savinho's cross would have made it 3-1 moments into the second half. The miss spoke of a player who had scored only once from open play in 10 previous City appearances. But the statistic soon became two in 11 and completed the Norwegian's landmark third century. Nunes, again, was the provider, another sprint along the right this time spotted by Reijnders. The Portuguese rolled the ball to Haaland; he miskicked but it bobbled in, with Di Gregorio stranded. The 24-year-old's second goal of the competition had his team cruising. Juve had faded as any kind of force. The contest continued to take part in their half. Off went Rodri, unscathed, to be replaced by Ilkay Gündogan, and Phil Foden came on for the effervescent Doku. Guardiola's move became seer-like as City's fourth was scored by Foden. Haaland galloped through an inside-right zone and passed. Savinho pinged the ball to Foden, who collected his second of this Club World Cup calmly from close range. Savinho's rocket rounded off an emphatic win. Dusan Vlahovic's late finish for Juve will have annoyed Guardiola – but not for long. Of Haaland's feat, the manager said: 'Congrats on 300 goals – it's good, right? His manager was incredible at football – he scored 11 career goals. I admire him a lot.'
CNN
19 hours ago
- Sport
- CNN
Erling Haaland reaches 300 goals faster than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Erling Haaland scored the 300th goal of his career at the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday, reaching the mark faster than many of his legendary contemporaries. Haaland achieved the milestone in the 52nd minute of Manchester City's 5-2 thumping over Juventus at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, with his team's third goal of the match. It wasn't the most convincing of finishes from the Norwegian, bundling the ball home from close range after a cross from Matheus Nunes left him with an open goal. The ball came off his left leg before ricocheting off his trailing right leg and into an empty net. It nevertheless brought up Haaland's 33rd goal of the season for City. Per ESPN, the 24-year-old reached 300 goals in 370 games, faster than Kylian Mbappé (409 games), Lionel Messi (418 games) and Cristiano Ronaldo (554 games) in their illustrious careers. 'All I can say is congratulations, scoring 300 goals at 24 years old, this is quite good, right?' City manager Pep Guardiola said after the game. 'I'm so happy for Erling, for his goal again and being involved in the short spaces. It was really good.' Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Savinho and an own goal from Juve defender Pierre Kalulu helped City to the 5-2 victory on Thursday. The game was also a momentous occasion for midfielder Rodri, who made his first start after suffering a torn ACL last September and missing most of the season. The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner played 65 minutes before being substituted. 'He's the best player in the world,' Guardiola said, per the Guardian. 'He was missed, that was clear. I'm happy hopefully he can help us a lot.' The emphatic victory over Juventus means City topped its Club World Cup group with three wins from three games and will face Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the last 16 on Tuesday in Orlando.
CNN
19 hours ago
- Sport
- CNN
Erling Haaland reaches 300 goals faster than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Erling Haaland scored the 300th goal of his career at the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday, reaching the mark faster than many of his legendary contemporaries. Haaland achieved the milestone in the 52nd minute of Manchester City's 5-2 thumping over Juventus at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, with his team's third goal of the match. It wasn't the most convincing of finishes from the Norwegian, bundling the ball home from close range after a cross from Matheus Nunes left him with an open goal. The ball came off his left leg before ricocheting off his trailing right leg and into an empty net. It nevertheless brought up Haaland's 33rd goal of the season for City. Per ESPN, the 24-year-old reached 300 goals in 370 games, faster than Kylian Mbappé (409 games), Lionel Messi (418 games) and Cristiano Ronaldo (554 games) in their illustrious careers. 'All I can say is congratulations, scoring 300 goals at 24 years old, this is quite good, right?' City manager Pep Guardiola said after the game. 'I'm so happy for Erling, for his goal again and being involved in the short spaces. It was really good.' Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Savinho and an own goal from Juve defender Pierre Kalulu helped City to the 5-2 victory on Thursday. The game was also a momentous occasion for midfielder Rodri, who made his first start after suffering a torn ACL last September and missing most of the season. The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner played 65 minutes before being substituted. 'He's the best player in the world,' Guardiola said, per the Guardian. 'He was missed, that was clear. I'm happy hopefully he can help us a lot.' The emphatic victory over Juventus means City topped its Club World Cup group with three wins from three games and will face Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the last 16 on Tuesday in Orlando.
Irish Times
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Pep Guardiola hails Man City after impressive win over Juventus
Pep Guardiola hailed a stunning performance after Manchester City thrashed Juventus 5-2 to top their group at the Club World Cup . Erling Haaland scored his 300th career goal and Rodri played 66 minutes on his first start since September as City moved through the gears at Orlando's Camping World Stadium on Thursday. City defied intense heat and a later torrential downpour to sweep aside a Juventus team that beat them 2-0 in the Champions League last season. Guardiola's team looked more like the all-conquering outfit they have been for much of the Spaniard's reign rather than the ponderous side that laboured through much of the 2024-25 campaign. READ MORE The statement victory ensured they won Group G with a 100 per cent record and theoretically secured a more favourable route through a tournament they must now be among the favourites to win. City manager Guardiola said: 'I liked the way we did it. It has been a long time since we had a performance like this on and off the ball. The players were committed and we are happy to beat a top side. 'This is just one game but I think the players felt again what it was like to be a good team. It's the first time we've performed the way we can. 'We won the last two but we adjusted a few things. I'm really pleased because the players realise what we have to do to get back to what we were in the last decade. 'The belief always comes from your performances, not your past.' The loss of Rodri with a serious knee injury for the majority of last season was one of the key reasons for their failure to match the standards of the past. After winning the Premier League for the previous four years, City failed to mount a strong title defence and exited the Champions League before the last 16. His appearance in Orlando represented a notable step up in his comeback after three substitute outings. Guardiola said: 'Sooner or later Rodri had to start. I said, 'OK, 45 minutes' but at half-time he said he wanted five to 10 minutes more. The game was under control. 'In the last few games we have conceded a lot of transitions but it didn't happen this time. Everyone knows how important Rodri is. He is one of the best players in the world.' City's early opener from Jeremy Doku was cancelled out by Teun Koopmeiners after an Ederson error but a Pierre Kalulu own goal restored the English side's lead. Haaland, Phil Foden and Savinho all struck in the second half as City made victory certain before a Dusan Vlahovic consolation. Elsewhere, Vinicius Junior scored one goal and assisted another to lift Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over RB Salzburg and a Group H first-place finish on Thursday night in Philadelphia. Al-Hilal beat Pachuca 2-0 in the other game of the group to set up last 16 game against Manchester City.
