Manchester City will round off the group stage of the Club World Cup when they face Juventus in Orlando on Thursday night.
Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva
City couldn't find the seventh goal they needed against Al Ain
Anyone doubting Manchester City's desire to achieve success at the Club World Cup only needed to watch the final few minutes of a walk in the park against Al Ain in Atlanta on Sunday night.
Already 6-0 up and in total control against the side from the United Arab Emirates, City pushed frantically for a seventh goal that would have taken them above Juventus at the top of Group G.
The substitutes stood in front of the dugout imploring their teammates on, and they were ready to erupt in seventh heaven, only for Phil Foden to see the best chance come back off the legs of Khalid Eisa. Pep Guardiola couldn't hide his frustration on the touchline.
As it was, City had to settle for six and it means they remain behind Juventus on goal difference ahead of their meeting at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Thursday. The Blues must now beat the Serie A giants to top the group and avoid a likely last-16 meeting with Real Madrid.
Finding an easier route in the knockout stages could extend their stay in the United States, but they have shown that this tournament means more to them than a glorified pre-season. As much as those extra games will be ideal preparation for the start of the Premier League season, there is also a desire to win it, according to Nathan Ake.
“Yeah, I would say so, 100%," the 30-year-old said. "After last season, no one was happy with what we achieved last season. This season is a new one and we want to achieve as much as possible, so for sure.
“We are here now to compete and I think we have the team to do that. But yeah, we can't look too far forward and tomorrow is a very important one as well, so we qualify for the next round.
“The mood is good. So, the thing we want to do is continue that. As you can see, every game in this tournament has been tough so far. So, we have to go again.”
City won the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia 18 months ago, with Ake part of the squad that beat Urawa Red Diamonds and Fluminense in the previous format of the competition.
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That was a low-key success back home but meant the world to the City players. They are determined to win the trophy again, becoming the first victors of the new-look 32-team competition. The Dutch defender is confident there is more to come from this team when the knockout stages begin.
“Yeah, it was a very enjoyable one two years ago," said Ake. "Obviously our first World Cup ever, winning it as well. It was a unique experience because you don't get that very often. So we took it very, very seriously and we were very happy in the end how it ended up.
“If you're here, you compete to win. We've seen so far that it's not an easy job. There are so many good teams in this competition, but that's why we're going to take it game by game and we're very motivated to obviously get to the final.
“And there's way more to come as well. Obviously, first game, we played well in parts, but there's also parts where we have to improve a lot and that's what we've been doing this week on the pitch again. Trying to improve, trying to move forward, and I'm sure there's much more to come.”