City thrash Juve, Vinicius sparkles for Real, Mailula scores for losing Wydad

Manchester City produced an impressive display to thrash Juventus 5-2 and underline their title credentials at the Club World Cup on Thursday, advancing to the last 16 with three victories with their 5-2 Group G thrashing of Juventus.

The game also saw Rodri make his first start for City since September, playing 67 minutes.

City coach Pep Guardiola was pleased with a display more fitting of his team after their battles of the 2024-25 season.

“I liked the way we did it. It has been a long time since we had a performance like this on and off the ball. The players were committed and we are happy to beat a top side.

“This is just one game, but I think the players felt again what it was like to be a good team. The belief always comes from your performances, not your past.”

On Rodri’s return, Guardiola said: “We have missed him a lot. He knows exactly what he has to do with the ball, and his personality. I didn’t expect him to play as many minutes. He will be ready for the next one.”

With both teams already through to the knockout stage, City underlined their status as title favourites by becoming the only team to finish the group phase with three wins, showing flashes of their brilliant selves.

Guardiola’s side, will meet Al-Hilal – coached now by Simone Inzaghi, who steered Inter Milan into the last Uefa Champions League final – in the last 16. City finished three points clear of Juventus, who will face Real Madrid.

Vinicius Jr scored one and set up another as Madrid secured a 3-0 victory over RB Salzburg on Thursday to seal top spot in Group H.

The Spaniards finished with seven points, two clear of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal, who defeated Pachuca 2-0 in the day’s other group fixture. Austria’s Salzburg, with four points, and Mexican side Pachuca, who failed to register a point, were eliminated.

Real face Juve at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Tuesday, while Hilal met City in Orlando on Monday.

Under steady rain in Philadelphia, Xabi Alonso’s Real dominated proceedings against a lacklustre Salzburg, who created few clear-cut chances.

Salzburg’s 18-year-old goalkeeper Christian Zawieschitzky was sharp from the outset and denied Vinicius an early opener with a point-blank save.

The Brazilian forward squandered further opportunities while Gonzalo Garcia also missed a golden chance from a Vinicius cross near the half-hour mark.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 40th minute with Jude Bellingham threading a perfectly timed pass through to Vinicius, who danced past two defenders and unleashed from the edge of the box to leave Zawieschitzky with no chance.

Vinicius played a pivotal role in Real’s second during first-half added time, picking up a loose ball in the box and delivering an audacious back-heeled pass to Federico Valverde, who fired home from close range.

Real Madrid maintained control in the second half but continued to waste chances in front of goal and it was not until the 84th minute that Gonzalo Garcia wrapped up the win, chipping the Salzburg goalkeeper in a quick counter.

“I’m very happy with the goal and the assist. But now comes the most important part, the knockouts, and we’re looking forward to it,” Vinicius told DAZN.

“The vibes were good. We played very well in the first half, but we were a bit slower in the second. That’s normal given the matches coming up, where we can’t afford to slip up.”

Real should also be able to call on Kylian Mbappe for the knockout rounds after the French forward missed the entire group stage due to illness.

Mbappe returned to training on Wednesday after being struck down by acute gastroenteritis last week but Alonso said they decided to leave him out of the Salzburg match to allow him to make a full recovery for the knockout stage.

Al-Hilal beat Mexico’s Pachuca 2-0 to reach the knockout stage, the big-spending Saudi club’s first win of the tournament enough to send them through as Group H runners-up behind Real.

Salem Al-Dawsari opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and Marcos Leonardo added the second in stoppage time to send the four-times Asian champions through to a last-16 clash with Manchester City in Orlando on Monday.

Kodjo Laba scored just before half time, Kaku broke through just after and Al Ain rallied to a 2-1 victory over Wydad AC.

Kaku’s goal in a match when VAR played a pivotal role stood as the winner for Al Ain, who notched the win escaped unscathed despite Laba’s stunning 76th-minute miss from close range. The UAE side finished third in Group G despite being routed 5-0 by Juventus and 6-0 by Manchester City. Wydad were last without a win.

South African former Mamelodi Sundowns star Cassius Mailula scored early for Wydad