Manchester City eased past Al Ain to book their spot in the Fifa Club World Cup knockout stages with Juventus up next.
Pep Guardiola’s side defeated Al Ain in style with a 6-0 win and, as expected, Group G has already seen their two teams seal their spot in the round of 16. Next Thursday, Man City will face Juventus in a clash for the first place.
It’s practically impossible to take any big statements away from Man City’s win, but there were a few tactical things that stood out.
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Rayan Cherki could be a lot of fun
While sometimes Man City fall into a predictable and dull style of football, Rayan Cherki is the exact opposite of that. For better or for worse, he is going to break the regular rhythm and create chaos in the opposition half.
After a somewhat disappointing debut against Wydad Casablanca, the Frenchman had 15 minutes to create a second first impression for Man City fans against Al Ain. And he grabbed the opportunity by the scruff of the neck.
Cherki roamed freely and tried to get involved in everything he could during his time on the pitch. He was rewarded with a beautiful goal and also initiated what could have been the build up to a seventh goal, but Phil Foden missed a great chance set up by Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian striker, in fact, could be the key to getting the best out of Cherki. Both players positioned themselves mainly in the same area of the pitch and often tried to play off of each other, even if not directly between them – occupying spaces left by the other and so on.
Haaland’s presence can create space for Cherki in the central areas and allow him to operate with more space. This way, he can create chances for himself with enough room to take defenders on and get past them. Or for others with enough time to pick out a pass, or even Haaland himself who has a great burst of pace to get in behind the line.
Guardiola already seems keen on making them get to know each other better and function well as a pair. If that happens, good luck to rest of the Premier League.
Haaland needs to find himself again
Speaking of Haaland, this was yet another disappointing game for the incredibly high standards he set with great performances in his young career so far. To his credit, he is trying to participate in the attacking sequences and is getting on the end of chances, which is half the battle. But the world expects him to convert better.
His last two starts for Man City have been “saved” by penalty goals: this one against Al Ain and vs Fulham back in May. He did fare better for Norway in the last international break, but seems to be falling back to a poorer form for his club.
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However, just like he can facilitate a lot for Cherki’s game to flourish, Cherki can do the same to Haaland. The Frenchman poses a different kind of threat from any that the Citizens have had in the No.10 spot maybe ever. Guardiola and fans will be hoping that both will unlock a new level for each other in the coming years and this Club World Cup can be where it all starts.
Khusanov & Nunes experiment
This is a minor thing but Man City entered the pitch against Al Ain with Abdukodir Khusanov as their right-back and Matheus Nunes as their right-midfielder. That’s possibly the wide pairing that provides the least amount of width and wing play for them.
As you’d expect, there was basically no progression on the right side while they were both playing there – and not for a lack of opportunity. The Citizens ended the game with 38% of their offensive actions down the right.
That number was at 35% for the 60 minutes with Khusanov and Nunes together on the pitch, but it was still the most-used corridor (32% down the middle and 33% on the left). Bernardo Silva would often try to help — as he normally does by nature — but it didn’t do much.
On the other hand, the duo gave Man City a lot of energy and defensive force on that side. It allowed the team to regain possession right after losing it at a decent rate or just forcing long balls from Al Ain that eventually went back to Man City. Maybe there’s enough there for it to be useful in specific contexts, but definitely not the best choice for games in which the Citizens are expected to control all actions and win by a wide margin.
Still, this is mostly nit-picking from what was an otherwise dominant and easy win for the Citizens. Guardiola and Bernardo looked to encourage the team to score more at the end to surpass Juventus’ goal difference, but they’re tied in this regard with the Vecchia Signora ahead in goals scored. Thursday’s game between them will decide who takes first place ahead of the round of 16.