Ilkay Gündogan scored twice, Erling Haaland added his first goal of the tournament on a penalty kick and Manchester City trounced Al Ain 6-0 in Club World Cup Group G play on Sunday night in Atlanta.
The 19-year-old Claudio Echeverri scored his first goal in a Manchester City shirt on a sublime free kick, and Oscar Bobb and Rayan Cherki piled on late in the match. Stefan Ortega needed to make just one save for Manchester City (2-0-0, 6 points).
Group G will be decided by Thursday’s showdown between Man City and Juventus in Orlando, Florida. They’ve both secured spots in the knockouts after beating Al Ain (0-2-0, 0 points) from Abu Dhabi and Wydad AC from Morocco.
“A really good performance,” said Gundogan. “I think we had our moments in the first half, and then also the second part of the second half.
“I think the result speaks for itself, and in the end, fully deserved.”
Khalid Eisa made five saves but could not keep up with Al Ain’s Premier League opponent, which ended the night with a 21-5 advantage in total shots.
Man City showed complete control early on and were rewarded with a 3-0 halftime lead.
They earned the first of their nine corner kicks in the eighth minute, and Bernardo Silva‘s offering found its way to Gundogan on the far side of the box. He chipped a lob shot that Eisa had no prayer of defending and the ball tucked into the corner of the net.
Echeverri’s free kick in the 27th was the result of a foul that earned Al Ain’s Facundo Zabala a yellow card. He placed the shot in the top corner of the net above Eisa’s head.
Haaland had a similarly easy time when he stepped to the spot five minutes into first-half stoppage. He shot to his right as Eisa dove the wrong way.
The next flurry of goals began in the 73rd minute when Gundogan took a pass from Silva, split multiple defenders in the box, turned toward the net and deposited the ball behind Eisa.
Bobb struck in the 84th minute and Cherki, who subbed on for Silva to make his Man City debut, scored in the 89th minute on a one-timer off a feed from Haaland.
Manchester City is the reigning club champion, winning the title in 2023 under the former seven-team format.