German midfielder, Ilkay Gundogan, netted a brace to help Premier League club, Manchester City, easily defeat UAE club, Al-Ain, by six (6) goals to zero (0) on Monday 23 June, 2025 at Mercedes-Benz multi-purpose Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Cityzens Manager Pep Guardiola has been left a little disappointed that Manchester City were not able to score a seventh goal in their whitewash of Al Ain, despite the English club securing passage to the knockout stages of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
Gundogan found the back of the net twice as City comfortably walloped the Emiratis 6-0 and drew level with Serie A side, Juventus, on points and goal difference at the top of Group G.
On the score sheet for Manchester City include: Claudio Echeverri, Erling Braut Haaland, Oscar Bobb and Rayan Cherki.
The Cityzens will face Juventus in their final preliminary match on Thursday to decide who goes top of the group and who finishes second.
The Bianconeri will head into the encounter with a little advantage as goals scored in the second tiebreaker after goal difference for teams level on points. Juve have netted nine (9) goals to Manchester City’s eight (8).
With a completely new lineup following a 2-0 victory over Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca in the group opener, Man City showcased a dominating performance in Atlanta against a dispatched club from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
We “pushed and pushed to score another goal” but ended up missing one, Guardiola said.
Rodri, Cityzens’ forward, came off the bench as he continues his gradual recovery from an ACL injury.
Guardiola said, Rodri “cannot play more than 30 minutes. He still struggles a bit in the duels, still needs to be a little bit stronger, but it’s normal.
“It’s important he played much, much better than the previous game. We miss him a lot. Any team would miss the best player in the world.”
Photo: Erling Haaland celebrates goal for Manchester City against Al-Ain on Monday. Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP
