City cruise as more Silva-ware beckons

Manchester City strolled into their first-ever FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) final, dispatching Urawa Red Diamonds 3-0 in Jeddah - ending an eight-match run without a clean sheet in all competitions in the process.

With marksman Erling Haaland still sidelined, Pep Guardiola decided against fielding a recognised striker in his starting XI for City’s CWC debut. And that lack of focal point clearly hampered the European champions in the early stages, as despite dominating both possession and territory, clear-cut chances were hard to come by. Matheus Nunes was first to pose a real threat to the Urawa goal, as his close-range volley was tipped over the bar by Shusaku Nishikawa, who then turned Phil Foden’s long-range effort round the post.

However, just as it looked as though the Urawa Reds would make it to the interval unscathed, they shot themselves in the foot in first-half stoppage time. After finding space on the right, Nunes’ dangerous low delivery across the face of goal was turned into his own net by Marius Høibråten, in a cruel blow to the Japanese outfit after such a spirited defensive display.

With the deadlock broken, City were quickly in stride after the restart and within six minutes, their advantage was doubled. Kyle Walker’s exquisite through ball sent Mateo Kovačić in on goal, and the Croatian international kept his composure to rifle home his first goal for the club. The floodgates were now threatening to open, and only Nunes will be able to explain how he directed his point-blank header wide of the target from Jack Grealish’s pinpoint cross.

There’d be no respite for Maciej Skorża’s men, however, as Bernardo Silva soon added a third with the aid of a fortuitous deflection. A spate of late substitutions disrupted the flow of Guardiola’s side, but the job was more than done as they sealed their place in the final against Fluminense on Friday. A fifth trophy of 2023 is up for grabs, while legendary manager Guardiola could lift the CWC for the fourth time – and with a third different side – should they emerge victorious against the Copa Libertadores champions.