Club World Cup: Man City trump Urawa Red Diamonds to advance to final
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Julian Alvarez of Manchester City and Ken Iwao of Urawa Reds during the FIFA Club World Cup semifinal match between Urawa Reds and Manchester City on December 19, 2023 in Jeddah || Image credit: Imago

Club World Cup: Man City trump Urawa Red Diamonds to advance to final

Faruq Ibrahim 21:36 - 19.12.2023

Manchester City took the first of two steps towards becoming world champions by beating Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds in the Club World Cup.

Manchester City banished all suggestions of a possible upset by making light work of Urawa Red Diamonds, beating them 3-0 to advance to the final.

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The Cityzens have stuttered in recent league games but are presented with the chance at becoming world champions should they beat two teams in Saudi Arabia, where the Club World Club is being held.

The first of which was the Asian champions, Urawa Red Diamonds, at King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, and Pep Guardiola's side have now advanced past them with minimal fuss to set up a final against Copa Libertadores winner Fluminense.

Pep Guardiola has previously stated how seriously he was going to take the competition, and his lineup against the Urawa Red Diamonds laid clear his intention.

Manchester City had a strong team against the Japanese and were utterly dominant for the entirety of the encounter. 

Despite the dominance, however, the Cityzens were frustrated in front of goal and had to wait until first-half injury time and a Marius Hoibraten own-goal to find an opener.

Mateo Kovacic doubled the lead in the 52nd minute before Bernardo Silva made it three seven minutes later.

With the win, the English Champions advanced to the final and will face Flamengo for a chance at being world champions.

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