By Aidan Leo
Manchester City cruised past Wydad Casablanca in their opening encounter of the Club World Cup on Wednesday, June 18.
Courtesy of goals from Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku, the 2023/24 Premier League champions put down a marker of intent for their contemporaries in the tournament to witness.
And with new signings debuting and some controversy present in the opening match-up, the game had a little bit of everything for Pep Guardiola’s men.
Key talking points
City walked away with 67.6% possession and a 90.7% pass accuracy – two facets of the game vitally important to Guardiola throughout his career.
A 71.4% tackle efficiency along with a 75% success rate on aerial duels, although decent, will need to improve in upcoming fixtures if the Citizens are to make a real dent in the trophy hopes of their challengers.
With 10 fouls won offensively and 10 committed defensively, the stats show that Guardiola’s team mixed dominance with defensive mishaps.
This is likely due to players being out of position – a symptom of Guardiola’s possession-based and pressure-heavy style.
Then, of course, the game’s biggest talking point: Rico Lewis’ red card.
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Thoughts on the red
Guardiola was visibly unnerved in his reaction to Lewis’ red card, deeming it “unnecessary”.
“He [the referee] says that the feet and the leg was high, but it was in the grass so the tendency [to lift the leg] is the natural way.
“Rico has never had absolutely any intention to do it. It doesn’t matter, it is what it is,” Guardiola said to DAZN.
“For the speed they go to touch the ball – for the Newton’s theory – your leg has to be a little bit higher and the other player was down. Rico had no intention.
“Rico is the person who never has intention to hurt anyone for his style of play.
“It was unnecessary, honestly, the red card, but the referee had a different opinion and he’s the boss. They checked VAR, so we accept it.”
It was an unfortunate occurrence and a decision that Guardiola will have to address by introducing presumably one of his many contingencies for Lewis’ position going into the tournament.
Lewis is now set to miss City’s second tournament encounter against Emirati team Al Ain on Monday, June 23.
Full-backs have always been central to Guardiola’s system, so losing Lewis for the next winnable fixture is a significant blow.
The road ahead
Both Foden and Doku were dynamic throughout, and Guardiola highlighted Foden’s importance in particular, saying: “Of course, he will be important. Of course, he will.
“It is another role. We have a lot of No.10s. We have to adjust many things. But step by step.”
His tone hints at a possible rotation and rejigging of his side in the future, but only time will tell considering the arrivals of Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, both of whom started the game.
After the game against Al Ain, a clash of titans awaits City in their final Group G encounter: a showdown with Italian giants Juventus on Thursday, June 26.
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