By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Manchester City made a confident start to their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a 2–0 win over Moroccan side Wydad Athletic, thanks to first-half goals from Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku.
City wasted no time asserting their dominance, with their opener coming just two minutes into the match.
Savinho carved open Wydad’s defence with a sublime run and shot, drawing a brilliant save from goalkeeper El Mehdi Benabid. However, Phil Foden was quick to pounce on the rebound, firing low into the bottom left corner to give City the lead.
The pressure continued to mount on the Moroccan champions as Omar Marmoush and Nathan Aké both came close to doubling the advantage with efforts that narrowly missed the target.
Wydad had a glimmer of hope in the 22nd minute when Oussama Zemraoui went down in the box, but the referee waved away penalty appeals.
City’s second goal came in the 42nd minute, again orchestrated by Foden. The England international whipped in a dangerous corner that found Jeremy Doku in the perfect position. The Belgian winger calmly slotted home a close-range finish to make it 2–0 before half-time.
In the second half, City continued to control the match, with Doku and Erling Haaland both testing Benabid, who stood tall between the sticks for Wydad.
Haaland in particular was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet, with a late shot in added time easily saved by the Moroccan goalkeeper.
Tension flared late in the game when City’s Rico Lewis was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge. Initially allowed to continue, the referee consulted VAR and confirmed the dismissal in the 90th minute.
Despite going down to ten men, City maintained their composure to see out the win, securing three points and a strong foothold in the competition.
