The Malta Independent 27 June 2025, Friday
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Manchester City beat Juventus 5-2 to win Group G of Club World Cup

Associated Press Friday, 27 June 2025, 08:02 Last update: about 11 hours ago

Manchester City won Group G of the Club World Cup with a dominant performance on Thursday, beating Juventus 5-2 at Camping World Stadium.

Man City went ahead 2-1 on an own goal in the 26th minute when defender Pierre Kalulu, attempting to intercept a pass at close range, sent the ball into the net.

The rout was on from there. Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Savinho scored in the second half to make it 5-1. Haaland's goal was the 300th of his career.

Man City midfielder Rodri, last year's Ballon d'Or winner, made his first start since he had knee ligament surgery in September. He left for a substitute in the 66th minute.

Jeremy Doku opened the scoring for Man City in the ninth minute, and Teun Koopmeiners equalized two minutes later. Dusan Vlahovic scored in the 84th minute for the Italian club, which finished second in the group.

Key moment

Juventus showed some late life when Vlahovic brought the ball into close range and found the back of the net.

Takeaways

Manchester City will face the Group H runner-up on June 30 at Orlando. Juventus will take on the Group H winner on July 1 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.

What they said

"Manchester City are a very high-level team. It's very difficulty to play against them. Today we struggled and we have to accept that." - Juventos coach Igor Tudor.

"I'm really pleased. ... We are going to try to maintain this rhythm for as long as possible." - Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola.

 

Vinícius Júnior scores and assists in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Salzburg to advance in CWC

Vinícius Júnior scored a goal and assisted on another in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Salzburg on Thursday night that secured the Spanish powerhouse first place in the Club World Cup's Group H and a spot in the round of 16.

Vinícius gave the 64,811 soaking wet fans at Lincoln Financial Field something to cheer for by scoring on a left-footed shot right outside the penalty box in the 40th minute. Jude Bellingham left Vinícius in position to score with a breakaway pass that took advantage of the wet field conditions caused by the rain.

Eight minutes later, a deflected pass by Mamady Diambou left Vinícius one-on-one against Joane Gadou inside Salzburg's penalty box. Having no angle to shoot, Vinícius delivered a backheel pass to Federico Valverde that left the Uruguayan wide open to score from 10 yards out.

Antonio Rüdiger suffered an apparent hamstring injury in the 60th minute after completing a long sprint down the right wing. He continued playing, but was subbed out six minutes later. His availability will be one to watch for Real Madrid's upcoming game as they are thin at the center back position due to multiple injuries and a suspension to Raúl Asencio.

Gonzalo García put the game to bed in the 84th minute with a chip shot after a counterattack he initiated by stealing the ball from Gadou in midfield.

With the win, Real Madrid became the ninth European team to advance to the round of 16. From the 12 European teams in the tournament, only Atlético Madrid, Porto, and Salzburg were eliminated in the group stage.

Key moment

Vinícius' backheel pass to set up Valverde inside the penalty box to score Madrid's second goal.

Takeaways

Real Madrid finished atop Group H with seven points. Madrid will face Juventus, a 5-2 loser to Manchester City, on Tuesday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Salzburg finished third in Group H with four points. They were eliminated as Al Hilal finished with five points, one more than the Austrian team, after defeating Pachuca 2-0 on Thursday night.

What they said

"Vinícius is essential for us. He has the capacity to do a lot of things for the team without and with the ball. So, I'm really happy for him. We have to keep it up and so does he." - Real Madrid midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni

"We learned a lot. We played against the best teams in the world, competed at a high level, and that's what we take out of the tournament from the experience we got. We lost, we won, and we drew. So it's a lot to learn, but it was good for us." - Salzburg defender Frans Krätzig

 


 


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