Manchester City 2 Wydad AC 0: City player ratings as Manchester City ease to victory | OneFootball

Manchester City 2 (Phil Foden 2′, Jeremy Doku 42′)

Wydad AC 0

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City began their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a 2-nil victory over Wydad AC. Pep Guardiola’s side will be happy with their victory and elements of their performance. But Wydad do deserve credit for their performance, especially the manner of their play in the first half.

When the starting lineups were announced, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki made their debuts for Manchester City. Rayan Ait-Nouri was named on the bench. Pep Guardiola picked a strong starting lineup which was filled with attacking talent.

First half

Manchester City kicked off their FIFA Club World Cup looking cool and calm in possession and intent on putting their stamp on the game’s early stages. They would do just that when Phil Foden gave City the lead in the second minute.

Phil Foden scores the fastest goal in FIFA Club World Cup history.

Pep Guardiola’s side would take the lead through Phil Foden in the second minute. Jeremy Doku drove at the Wydad defence, and his cross made its way to Savinho coming in on the right-hand side. His shot was saved by Mehdi Benabid in the Wydad goal and Foden was on hand to fire home the rebound to give Manchester City an early lead. Foden’s goal was the quickest in FIFA Club World Cup history and it looked to have set the tone for Manchester City’s Club World Cup campaign.

But following Manchester City’s early goal, Wydad AC to their credit didn’t sit back and dig in. The Moroccan side looked to get at Pep Guardiola’s side by getting in behind the high defensive line employed by the City defence. The pace and intelligent movement of Cassius Mailula, Thembinkosi Lorch and Nordin Amrabat was Wydad AC’s main attacking threat.

Wydad AC were giving Manchester City as good as they were getting.

Omar Marmoush would fire a shot wide in the 10th minute as Manchester City looked to double their lead. A Wydad counter-attack in the 12th minute almost saw the Moroccan side draw level. A teasing cross from Thembinkosi Lorch just evaded Cassius Mailula to keep the score at 1-nil. Two minutes later, Lorch tried an audacious lob from inside his own half after a misplaced pass from Rayan Cherki. But Ederson saved the lob with ease.

In the 20th minute, Nathan Ake would head wide from a good position from a corner. In truth, Ake should have at least tested Mehdi Benabid in the Wydad goal.

At the half-hour mark, Pep Guardiola’s side failed to take advantage of a great opportunity to counter. Omar Marmoush had the opportunity to play in Jeremy Doku or Savinho but his through ball was blocked by Mehdi El Moubarik.

Ederson would make his first save of the game in the 32nd minute. Manchester City’s number-one keeper denied Cassius Mailula with a quality save. The chance came after Vitor Reis got himself into an awful tangle, which gave Wydad AC the opportunity to equalise.

Rayan Cherki almost set up Phil Foden for his second goal of the match in the 37th minute. The French international cut the ball back from the left hand side of the Wydad penalty area, but Foden’s shot was well saved by Mehdi Benabid low down to his left.

Jeremy Doku makes it 2-nil in the 42nd minute.

Manchester City would double their lead in the 42nd minute. A quality corner from Phil Foden found Jeremy Doku at the backpost and his volley beat Benabid with ease to double City’s lead. The goal came at the ideal time as Wydad were growing into the game.

Jeremy Doku’s goal would be the last meaningful action of the first half. Manchester City deserved their lead, but Wydad AC did have their moments during the first half. All told, the first half was an entertaining affair.

Second half

The second half kicked off with Wydad AC attempting to get themselves back into the game. The Moroccan side had two strikes from distance but they didn’t trouble Ederson in the Manchester City goal. Vitor Reis headed over from a corner in the 49th minute a quality Phil Foden corner.

Jeremy Doku saw an effort well-saved by Mehdi Benabid in the 54th minute. Rayan Cherki pressed the Wydad AC keeper into a rushed pass, and a heavy touch from Wydad defender Mohamed Moufid played in Doku, but his shot was saved.

After Jeremy Doku’s shot and a host of substitutions from both teams, the sting appeared to come out of the game. The heat was also playing a part, and by the 70th minute, there was no real edge to the game.

Erling Haaland fired a shot over the bar from just inside the Wydad area in the 75th minute. Some nice City possession play and a driving run from Rico Lewis set up Haaland. But his shot went just over the bar.

Rico Lewis is sent off late in proceedings.

In the 88th minute, Rico Lewis was shown a red card. The England international made a strong challenge against Samuel Obeng and won the ball, but in his follow through caught Obeng in the face. Lewis was shown a straight red for the challenge, but it did look like a harsh decision.

Erling Haaland was denied by Mehdi Benabid in the 92nd second as Haaland’s right-footed shot was well saved by the Wydad keeper.

The Rico Lewis red card and Haaland’s chance were the last significant moments of the match. Come the final whistle, Manchester City had begun their Club World Cup campaign with a win and will be hoping to grow into the tournament when they take on Al Ain in their next fixture.

City player ratings

Ederson-7.5/10: Made one very good save in the first and his work as a sweeper keeper was superb.

Rico Lewis-7/10: Lewis played well, especially in the second half when he got further forward. I thought the red card he received late in the game was harsh.

Vitor Reis-5/10: Had some nice moments but his mistake in the first half was a blot on his copybook. At times he looked to be a quality centre-half, on other occassions, looked every bit a 19-year-old old defender.

Nathan Ake-7/10: A good return from Ake. Defended well and made some crucial challenges.

Nico O’Reilly-6.5/10: O’Reilly struggled at left-back in the first half, but was a lot better in the second half.

Tijjani Reijnders-8.5/10: Manchester City’s man-of-the-match in my opinion. He was classy in possession and got into good positions out of possession. Controlled the game in midfield in a hugely impressive debut.

Phil Foden-8/10: Scored Manchester City’s opener and picked up an assist for their second. Looked likely and has begun the FIFA Club World Cup in good form. Foden has trained well since arriving in the United States and that form carried into today’s match.

Rayan Cherki-6/10: Had some nice touches but also played a couple of misplaced passes. Interestingly, he played in an advanced role up front before he was substituted.

Savinho-6/10: Savinho showed flashes of quality throughout the game but too often his end product was lacking.

Jeremy Doku-7.5/10: It was Doku’s driving run and cross that set up Manchester City’s opening goal. His goal came from a quality finish and Doku played well before being substituted.

Omar Marmoush-6/10: Had his moments, but his shots were either wide or his touch was heavy. An almost day for the Egyptian international.

Substitutes

Rodri-6.5/10: Rodri looked rusty but there were glimpses of quality as he grew into the second half. A promising performance.

Erling Haaland- 6/10: Had two chances after coming on but got through the game which was more important than his performance.

Oscar Bobb-6/10: Some nice touches but it was more important to see Bobb get some minutes and get through unscathed.

Ilkay Gundogan-6/10: Didn’t do a lot but was composed when on the pitch.

Matheus Nunes-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.