City begin Club World Cup with comfortable Wydad win

The Blues took the lead inside two minutes when Phil Foden pounced on a loose ball inside the Wydad area, setting the tone for a generally dominant display.

Jeremy Doku added a second after firing home from a Foden corner as half-time approached, with the Belgian also going close to a third early in the second 45.

A late red card for Rico Lewis - which appeared harsh - did little to derail City’s march to three points, with an assured performance in sweltering conditions seeing us move top of Group G.

What happened

Pep Guardiola had described our FIFA Club World Cup campaign as the start of the new season and the Blues set to task on making sure we began 2025/26 in style.

And after dominating possession from kick-off, the opener arrived inside just two minutes.

Working the space well down the right, Savinho flashed a dangerous ball across the face of the Wydad goal which was spilled by goalkeeper Mehdi Benabid into the path of Foden.

The midfielder didn’t need a second invitation, firing home from close-range to give City a dream start.

Guardiola handed debuts to Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki from the start, and the pair were immediately pulling the strings for the Blues in dangerous areas.

Cherki played a huge role in the next big chance for City, playing the ball into Omar Marmoush on the edge of the Wydad area, with the Egyptian’s sharp turn and strike flashing just wide of the far post.

Our Moroccan opponents were more than playing their part in an entertaining Group G opener, but City were looking particularly sharp in the Philadelphia heat.

Wydad almost drew level against the run of play though when the lively Thembinkosi Lorch beat Vitor Reis to a ball over the City defence, but Ederson stood firm to save with his feet just after the half-hour mark.

Benabid made an equally impressive stop at the other end, smothering a goal-bound Foden effort after the England international had looked to place one into the bottom corner from a low cross.

But the Wydad stopper could do nothing to prevent City’s second as half-time approached, with Doku tapping home at the back post after getting in front of his marker to meet a Foden corner.

The Belgian almost added a third early in the second half when he stole possession deep in the attacking half after our opponents had tried to play out from the back, only for Benabid to make a fine one-on-one save.

City were on course for a deserved three points, but Guardiola was in no mood to let up, introducing Oscar Bobb, Rodri and Erling Haaland to the action on the hour mark.

WATCH THE FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025 ON DAZN

And for a split second Haaland looked like he’d make it three for the Blues when getting the ball onto his left foot and curling towards the far corner, only to see his strike sail over the bar.

With little goalmouth action heading towards stoppage time, there was still time for one last piece of drama in Philadelphia as City were reduced to ten men.

Lewis was given his marching orders after clashing with Wydad’s Samuel Obeng and while there was contact between the two, the sending off appeared a harsh decision.

Despite the disadvantage, City still had the biggest chance in stoppage time, with Haaland denied by Benabid as he looked to dink the goalkeeper after being sent through one on one.

Player of the Match: Phil Foden

The midfielder grabbed the opener and set up our second in Philadelphia to cap off an impressive performance in the engine room.

Sharp and creative on the ball and tenacious off it, Foden put in a complete midfield performance alongside new recruits Reijnders and Cherki to see the Blues over the line in our Group G opener.

What it means

City start Group G with a win and move up to first place ahead of Al Ain and Juventus’ fixture at 21:00 (US) / 02:00 (UK).

The top two teams in Group G will qualify for the knockout stages, with the Blues set to play Al Ain and Juventus on Sunday 22 and Thursday 26 June respectively.

How we lined up

Ederson started between the sticks, shielded by a back four of Rico Lewis, Vitor Reis, Nathan Ake and Nico O’Reilly.

Tijjani Reijnders sat in front of the defence, with Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki completing the midfield three.

At the sharp end, Savinho and Jeremy Doku started on the flanks with Omar Marmoush leading the line as centre-forward.

City XI: Ederson (C), Lewis, Reis, Ake, O’Reilly, Reijnders, Foden (Rodri 60’), Cherki (Haaland 60’), Savinho (Nunes 90+1’), Doku (Bobb 60’), Marmoush (Gundogan 69’)

Subs: Ortega Moreno, Dias, Stones, Nico, Bernardo, Ait-Nouri, Gvardiol, Akanji, Echeverri, Khusanov

Wydad AC XI: Benabid, Moufid, Boutouil, Moufi, Meijers (Moutaraji 75’), Ferreira, El Moubarik, Zemraoui (Malsa 62’), Lorch (Aziz Ki 84’), Amrabat (Obeng 62’), Mailula (Rayhi 46’)

Subs: El Motie, Aqzdaou, Harkass, Arthur, Benktib, Pedrinho, Bennani, Mahtou, Fathi, Mwalimu

Next Fixture

All fixtures

Mon 23 Jun

FIFA Club World Cup 2025

Man City

02:00

BST

Al Ain

Up next

City travel to Atlanta for our second Group G fixture, taking on Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday 22 June.

Kick-off at the Mercedes Benz Stadium is set for 02:00 (UK) / 21:00 (US), with the match available to watch in full on DAZN.

For more information on how to tune in, click here.