Ilkay Gundogan scored two goals as Manchester City easily beat Emirati team Al-Ain 6-0 on Sunday. This win put them in the knockout stage of the Club World Cup from Group G, along with Juventus.
The German midfielder scored in the 9th and 73rd minutes. Claudio Etcheverri, a teenager from Argentina, curled in a great free kick, and Erling Haaland scored a penalty before halftime.
Alternates Oscar Bobb and new acquisition Rayan Cherki scored late goals to finish off the big win, putting City on equal footing with Juventus on goal differential after they beat Wydad Casablanca 4-1 earlier in the day. On Thursday in Orlando, City and Juventus will play one other for the last time in their group. The victor will move on to the Round of 16 as Group G winners.
Gundogan said, “That was a really good performance.” “I think we had our chances in the first half and then again in the second half.
Manager Pep Guardiola showed how deep his team was by changing all of his starters. Gundogan took advantage of this chance and scored the first goal with a shot that went over Al-Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eisa.
Al-Ain was more aggressive than they had been in their previous 5-0 loss to Juventus. Winger Nassim Chadli almost equalized in the 15th minute, but City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega Moreno stopped him.
Etcheverri, who was making his first start for the club, scored a curling free kick around a wall that was in the wrong place and beat Eisa at his near post in the 27th minute. Haaland had already come near twice, but he ultimately scored in stoppage time in the first half.
Haaland scored his 32nd goal of the season from the penalty spot after VAR saw Egyptian defender Ramy Rabia pull Manuel Akanji down in the box during a corner. Eisa went the opposite way.
City kept up their aggressive play in the second half. Matheus Nunes just missed with a volley, and Eisa had to step in to stop Haaland from scoring twice from close range.
Chadli missed another chance in the 69th minute when he shot over the bar. Gundogan quickly put an end to any hopes of a comeback by scoring his second goal. He took a precise pass from Bernardo Silva and deftly lifted the ball over Eisa.
In the 82nd minute, Bobb scored his fifth goal by cutting inside and finishing at the near post. Cherki then finished off the rout with a precise shot from the edge of the box.
