Match Report and Player Ratings: Manchester City 2-0 Wydad AC (FIFA Club World Cup Group Stage) | OneFootball

Manchester City kicked off their Club World Cup defence with a 2-0 win against Moroccan side Wydad AC in Philadelphia this evening.

Phil Foden struck the earliest goal in the competition’s history to get the ball rolling immediately, and Jeremy Doku increased the Blues’ grip on the game when he converted from the Englishman’s corner on the stroke of half-time.

An entertaining and end-to-end first-half gave way to a more controlled City display in the second, allowing them to play out the victory and start their group stage comfortably despite a late red card for Rico Lewis.

Not even two minutes had elapsed before City took the lead – a Doku ball into the box was recycled with Foden finding Savinho, and El Mehdi Benabid’s diving save only diverted the ball back into the path of the Blues’ number 47, who duly tucked in an easy finish.

It was an attacking line-up from Guardiola and his players were operating with fluidity and intent; Omar Marmoush nearly added a second before the 10-minute mark, shooting narrowly wide from the edge of the area after a flowing move involving Savinho and Rayan Cherki.

That dominant start would have had those unfamiliar with Wydad fearing that a hammering on the level of Bayern Munich’s recent 10-0 dismantling of Auckland City would be on the cards, but the Moroccans are a decent outfit in their own country and weren’t dispirited at the early concession – left-back Mohamed Moufid proved that point by trying to lob Ederson from about 60 yards, forcing the Brazilian to briefly back-pedal.

It’s not just players that have been incoming at City this summer but coaching staff members too, with this the first chance to see the work of new set-piece coach James French, and a corner nearly produced a second goal as Nathan Ake’s header just past the post had Benabid rooted to the spot.

The score remained binary though and Wydad’s threat didn’t go away, with Vitor Reis fluffing his lines and allowing Thembinkosi Lorch in behind, and Ederson making a blocking save on the resulting shot from Cassius Mailula before City missed an equally presentable opportunity as Benabid smartly got down to Foden’s close-range effort.

The second goal did eventually arrive on the brink of half-time though, and it was indeed from a set-piece, Doku sneaking in at the back post to prod home Foden’s deep corner.

The Belgian should have had his brace shortly after the restart when Cherki’s pressing forced a heavy touch from Abdelmounaim Boutouli and allowed the City winger to bear down on goal, but he curled his shot too close to Benabid and saw the Wydad keeper beat it away.

One of the biggest cheers of the afternoon was afforded to the substitutions of Rodri, Oscar Bobb and Erling Haaland, with the latter soon blasting just over with his first chance to score after good set-up play from Rico Lewis.

It wasn’t the most explosive of second-halves, save for when Wydad fans produced pyrotechnics and fireworks as their team’s hopes were fading, leading to a brief pause to clear them from the pitch.

Things did ignite in the closing stages though, as Lewis received a late red card when his sliding challenge carried him into a collision with Samuel Obeng’s face, despite the defender’s protestations.

It was too late to have any bearing on the outcome though, and despite Haaland being denied in a late one-on-one with Benabid, Manchester City enjoyed a winning start to this new-look edition of the trophy they won back in 2023.

Here’s how we rated the players in City’s largely comfortable victory over Wydad AC!

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Ederson – 7.5

Wydad didn’t manage to put too much on target despite some promising spells in the game, so a good close-range stop on Mailula was the most asked of Ederson. Tried to create some fun for himself when under pressure, easily evading any attempts to catch him out.

Rico Lewis – 5

Contributed well to City’s building out from the back, and didn’t face too much traffic coming the other way. Was confident moving into advanced zones too. Unlucky as his follow-through saw him sent off late on.

Vitor Reis – 7

Required to be more defensively active than he might have expected, making some important blocks and sharp recoveries. Was forced into an error under pressure from Lorch and needed his goalkeeper to bail him out.

Nathan Ake – 7

Looked to be prioritising simplicity after having spent so much time out injured. Did his defensive work in no-nonsense fashion, clearing his lines when necessary.

Nico O’Reilly – 6.5

Had a handful in the form of the experienced Nordin Amrabat down his flank, managing to keep him from creating too much danger despite some hairy moments. Had some strong carries up the pitch but didn’t influence things too much in attack otherwise.

Tijjani Reijnders – 8

He’s a City player, ladies and gentlemen. Faded in influence a little in the second-half, but his ball-playing both in his own half and in attacking areas in the first was a source of much optimism for the new-look Manchester City midfield.

Phil Foden – 8 (MOTM)

Seemed to have refound a lot of that belief in himself that made him the Premier League’s finest player just two seasons ago. Scored an instinctive goal and was rewarded for some good set-pieces with an assist for Doku, and popped up in a few of those pockets from which he’s so capable of doing damage.

Rayan Cherki – 6

Not quite the spellbinding start to life that Manchester City fans will have hoped to see from Cherki, but not without some encouragement. Showed his confidence to attempt line-breaking passes and flicks and contributed well to the press, but his creative efforts didn’t come off for him on this occasion.

Savinho – 7.5

Heavily involved in a number of City’s attacking moves, threatening with his ability to go both ways down the right flank and putting in some decent deliveries.

Omar Marmoush – 7

Wasn’t afraid to try things, shooting from various positions and carrying the ball confidently. Couldn’t make a telling difference despite finding himself in good areas.

Jeremy Doku – 7.5

Got his goal which has so often been a stick to beat him with at City, although offered an example of why that’s the case with his one-on-one miss just before coming off. Still managed to threaten both with the ball at his feet and with his runs in behind.

Substitutes

Rodri – 5.5

Understandably a rusty-looking cameo from the Ballon d’Or holder as he seeks to get back into the groove after his long injury layoff. You can see that genius footballing brain is still there, but his feet will take a while to match that speed again.

Oscar Bobb – 6

Tried taking on his man but, like Rodri, is far from his sharpest without having played much football at all this year.

Erling Haaland – 5.5

Didn’t see much involvement, outside of two misses with his only sights at goal.

Ilkay Gundogan – 6

Pinged some passes about in the midfield.

Matheus Nunes – N/A