Manchester City started their Club World Cup campaign with a routine 2-0 win over Wydad AC, as both Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku found the net in the first half.
Pep Guardiola’s side held 66% possession, creating six big chances and getting 15 shots off — six of which were on target.
On the other hand, Wydad did manage to fashion 12 shots from their 32% share of possession, creating one big chance.
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One of the biggest additions at Man City this summer is not actually a player, but instead a coach, with Pep Lijnders (Jurgen Klopp’s ex-assistant) joining Guardiola’s team.
We saw his influence in the game quite quickly, pressing with an extreme man to man approach, with the front four lined up across the opposition’s 18-yard box.
But what was different about Guardiola’s set up on the ball, and can we start to piece his plan for the new campaign together?
Man City started the game with two of their new signings, with Tijjani Reijnders at the base of midfield and Rayan Cherki through the middle as a false nine.
This 4-1-4-1 shape shifted into more of a 2-3-2-3/2-3-5 shape on the ball, with both full-backs joining Reijnders centrally in the build up.
While the Man City wide men looked to stay high and wide pinning the opposition full-backs, Omar Marmoush, Phil Foden and Cherki had more license to interchange in their roles.
With all three operating loosely between the lines, dropping from high to low to receive the ball, spaces opened up for central carries and quick one-two sequences. This is something that could become a huge feature of Guardiola’s new tactical evolution.
But in order to allow the frontline to do their best work, the engine room in the middle park has to be functioning. And Man City’s new midfield signing certainly looked a key figure.
The 26-year-old Dutch midfielder played the entire 90 minutes, having 82 touches, completing 68 of his 74 passes and winning two of his three ground duels.
His role in the opening 60 minutes was largely to keep things ticking in the middle, connecting in tight spaces with the inverted full-backs and looking to progress play into the frontline.
An interesting tweak from Guardiola saw Reijnders receiving goal kicks from inside his own 18-yard box, looking to initiate their first phase of build up by carrying the ball out himself.
The introduction of Rodri on the hour mark saw Reijnders operating a little bit higher up, now looking to receive between the lines in the half spaces and use his carrying quality further forwards.
After a brilliant Man City debut, it seems clear that the Dutch international will be a key cog for Guardiola this season, with the ability to use his new midfielder in a variety of ways depending on the gameplan.
But Reijnders wasn’t Guardiola’s only new asset, as Cherki also arrived this summer from Lyon for a fee of around £34 million.
Many have questioned the role Cherki would play at Man City. Would he have the work rate required to play in midfield? Or would Guardiola find a swanky work around to accommodate Cherki off the ball?
The 21-year-old Frenchman played 60 minutes in his Man City debut, taking 35 touches, completing one key pass and completing one of his two dribble attempts.
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His debut performance can give us a clue on how Guardiola plans to use Cherki, as he had a free role through the middle, drifting to either side (more often the right) to get his touches on the outside of the opposition block.
Cherki looks likely to be a versatile weapon for Guardiola, one he can move around based on the opposition defensive scheme and gameplan.
Whether Guardiola can convince Cherki to work hard enough to play in a deeper central role more frequently is the question many will be asking. But this is something we will have to wait to see in the latter stages of the competition.