Manchester City got their FIFA Club World Cup campaign underway with a win against Wydad AC.
Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku’s first half goals were enough for a rotated City side to earn the three points without much discomfort.
Ederson had to make a few saves with the score still at 1-0, but after Doku’s tap in following Foden’s corner doubled the lead, the Blues somewhat eased through the second.
Rico Lewis was sent off late on for a slide tackle that ended up making contact with his opponents face after he won the ball, meaning the 20-year-old will miss City’s next game, against Abu Dhabi side Al-Ain in the early hours of Monday morning.
Here are three things we learned from City’s opening game in the Club World Cup:
The new signings will fit in well
Manchester City FC v Wydad AC: Group G - FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images
We didn’t get to see Rayan Ait-Nouri, but the early signs from Rayan Cherki and particularly Tijjani Reijnders were very encouraging ahead of this season.
Cherki had a decent debut, but particularly towards the end of the first half, was very sloppy and gave the ball away a lot. It’s almost as if he was trying too hard to make an impact - something Jack Grealish struggled with as well at the start of his City career.
But he’s clearly a driven, motivated, extremely talented individual. It’s remarkable how adept he is with both feet, and will undoubtedly improve on a solid start under Pep Guardiola’s mentorship.
Reijnders, on the other hand, already looked the complete package. Playing as a lone six, with Cherki, Foden and Omar Marmoush ahead of him, he helped dictate the tempo of the game with the ball and held his own defensively.
Guardiola is likely to play Reijnders further up the pitch next season, with Rodri playing more and more minutes on his return to fitness.
Whilst it’d be ideal to trim the squad down by three or four bodies, at the moment the healthy competition for places next season is at an all time high, and it’s great to see the new signings getting involved with that.
Foden is back
Manchester City FC v Wydad AC: Group G - FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Photo by Carl Recine - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
It’s no exaggeration to say that Foden looked like he was back to his very best against Wydad.
The Moroccan side sat deep and narrow, limiting space in the middle. But out of him, Cherki and Marmoush, Foden seemed to be the player who saw the most of the ball and was making things happen.
He scored early on, dispatching a loose ball that fell to him, but it was his celebration and overall performance, where he seemed to be fresher, fitter and with the smile returned to his face, that was more telling than the goal itself.
Ultimately, that has saved City from a big money signing. It was initially disappointing when Florian Wirtz agreed a deal with Liverpool, but signing Cherki, seeing Oscar Bobb return from injury and seeing Foden return to form will more than compensate for it after Kevin de Bruyne’s departure.
Our home supporters are unbelievable
Manchester City FC v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Seeing a half empty stadium despite it being an almost unique opportunity for American City fans to get to watch the side in a competitive game makes me realise just how fantastic City’s Mancunican based support is.
Yes, it was scheduled for 12pm local time on a Wednesday, which is difficult for most people with jobs to attend. The club still produced a fantastic turnout compared to other teams, such as Chelsea in their match against Los Angeles FC.
But how many days off work do City fans who regularly attend away games take every season, to follow the club not just around the country, but around the continent?
A lot of the time, many international fans, including our own, are critical when the Etihad is empty during a midweek match, claiming that if they were in the shoes of the local fans they would never miss a match.
Well, they are now. And it’s not just City fans, but fans from every team, that are leaving stadiums empty for this Club World Cup.
I don’t want this to come across too critical of City’s worldwide fanbase - there are plenty of non glory hunting supporters, plenty of fans who are making the effort to go games, and even those that aren’t, but haven’t previously criticised regular match going supporters for missing the odd game.
It’s made me properly realise (and hopefully the rest of the fanbase too) just how much of an effort our regular supporters go through to follow the team.