- Manchester City crushed Juventus 5:2 in their final group stage match at the Club World Cup
- Rodri returned to City’s starting lineup after recovering from injury
- Both teams had already qualified for the round of 16, but City topped Group G with the win
Key Takeaways:
Manchester City thrashed Juventus in their final group stage match at the Club World Cup. Under shifting weather conditions in Orlando, the Citizens cruised to a 5:2 victory over their Italian opponents.
The outcome of the match only mattered for determining the group leader in Group G, as both teams had already secured their places in the round of 16 of the tournament. With the emphatic win, Manchester City finished top of the group, while the Old Lady took second place.
The Citizens were clearly the better team on the pitch throughout. The greater joy for City fans, however, was the return of Rodri to the starting XI, with the Spaniard now seemingly fully recovered from his serious injury.
Manchester City dominate Juventus on their way to a perfect nine-point Club World Cup group stage 💪 pic.twitter.com/pfRBOpNiUy
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) June 26, 2025
Right at the start of the match, Michele De Gregorio saved Juventus by stopping a precise shot from Bernardo Silva. The pressure from the Citizens in the opening minutes paid off. The first goal came in the 9th minute. New signing Rayan Ait-Nouri delivered a masterful pass to Jeremy Doku, who finished clinically for 1–0.
The Old Lady responded immediately. Just 120 seconds later, Teun Koopmeiners capitalised on a defensive error and found the net from a tight angle to make it 1–1. In the 26th minute, Pierre Kalulu, in an attempt to clear the ball, sent it into his own net without any pressure from an opposing player. While trying to intercept a pass inside the box, he scored an own goal to make it 2–1.
Shortly before the end of the first half, heavy rain began to fall, drastically changing the weather conditions compared to the start of the match. After the break, however, the weather became favourable for both teams.
In the 52nd minute, substitute Erling Haaland took advantage of a brilliant Manchester City attack, finishing a superb pass from Matheus Nunes to make it 3–1. Another substitute, Phil Foden, also found the net from close range to extend the lead to 4–1. Savinho increased the lead to 5–1 with a stunning volley from the edge of the penalty area in the 76th minute.
In the final moments of the match, Dusan Vlahovic received an excellent pass from Kenan Yildiz and pulled one back for Juventus to make it 2–5 against Manchester City.