Man City romp into Club World Cup last 16 with a 6-0 rout of Al Ain

Riding on Ilkay Gundogan's fine brace, Manchester City stormed into the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 with a stunning 6-0 rout of UAE side Al Ain in Atlanta on Sunday night.

Ilkay Gundogan gave City an early lead in the 8th minute of the game. Young star Claudio Echeverri, who netted his first goal for the club, doubled the lead in the 27th minute with a free-kick and Erland Haaland made it 3-0 with a stoppage-time penalty just before the halftime whistle.

The script remained the same in the second half as Gundogan struck his second in the 73rd minute, Oscar Bobb scored the fifth, while Rayan Cherki completed the rout, scoring his first City goal.


With the win, City drew level with Juventus on six points at the top of Group G. The result also confirmed the Italian team's place in the next round.


"Now we have to see whether we'll be first or second in the group," said City coach Pep Guardiola after the win.

"We played a little bit better than the first game, especially in the second half."

City now face Juventus in Orlando on Thursday in a high-stakes showdown to determine the group winner and avoid a potential last-16 clash with Real Madrid.

Serbian coach Vladimir Ivic’s team found themselves overwhelmed once again, after their 5-0 opening loss to Juventus, with City asserting control from the outset in Houston.

City took a 10th-minute lead in fortunate fashion when Gundogan’s chipped pass toward Haaland floated untouched into the net. Al Ain nearly struck back after Nico Gonzalez was dispossessed, but Nassim Chadli’s shot was expertly pushed wide by Stefan Ortega.

Echeverri, the 19-year-old Argentine making his first start, curled in a stunning free-kick in the 27th minute to make it 2-0 for City.

Haaland came close shortly after, firing narrowly wide, but found the net in first-half stoppage time with a composed penalty after a VAR review confirmed a foul on Manuel Akanji.

Haaland was denied a second goal by Khalid Eisa’s double save in the second half, but Gundogan made it 4-0 with a clever finish. Substitute Oscar Bobb added a fifth before Rayan Cherki completed the rout.