Manchester City will be looking to win the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia this week but will face further defeats at the hands of their Premier League rivals before bouncing back.
Manchester City may be the kings of the world on Friday night, but they may be spending Christmas watching their Premier League rivals. The Blues face Fluminez in Jeddah later this week with the chance to win the world title and claim an unprecedented fifth trophy in 2023, the most ever by an English club.
But their hold on one of those crowns is waning and domestic problems are catching up with them as the city turns its attention to foreign policy this week. Aston Villa could go top of the league when they face the South American champions on the same night as City.
Liverpool face Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday night, while City’s game against Brentford has been postponed and will be played at a later date. Villa and Liverpool are set to play again on December 27 when they travel to Merseyside to face Everton.
If Jurgen Klopp’s side beat Arsenal and Burnley, they will move 10 points clear of City. City could drop to sixth after a game against the Toffees.But the message from the Middle East is simple. Don’t panic. A change of scenery and some December sunshine could be a much-needed boost for a side who have won just one of their last six top-flight games.
They won again on Tuesday with a 3-0 win over Urawa Red Diamonds at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium and Rodri was quick to change the conversation when he briefly joined the Premier League debate.
But we are not afraid,” he said. “Like I said, we’re not looking at the table. We just have to focus on ourselves. Even if you’re not number one right now, keep calm.
“Honestly, don’t ask about others, ask about our team. We’re trying to get back together and go again, and that’s the most important thing.”His importance is more to City’s players and staff than to many observers in England. It’s a competition that doesn’t capture the imagination in Europe the way it does around the world, but the glory it can bring to clubs is incredible.
City had 24 shots on target against Urawa in a one-sided semi-final. There is no doubt that the Premier League side will be favorites to crack the famous top five in 2023, but they will face a tough test in terms of fitness.”That is one of the problems we face.
“I think we have to do everything we can to win it all because it will be history,” said Rodri. “We are only focused on the final and winning five titles would be a great achievement. We have a great opportunity to win a great trophy.”I watched the game yesterday. We know what kind of team Brazil is.
Very passionate and high quality. That’s why we have to work, know this and do our best.”City’s pre-Christmas foray into the Middle East comes at an opportune time and allows them to forget their hospital form. This was even more evident on Saturday when they leveled a game they had dominated, conceding twice in the last 16 minutes to take a 2-0 lead against Crystal Palace at the Etihad. Arsenal, Liverpool and Villa continued their form over City and Rodri admitted the result left a bad feeling in the squad.
“We need this result given what we’ve been through in the last few games,” he said. “I think it was good to come to the World Cup with a break because it left us with a very bad feeling in the dressing room. “It was important to get that performance as a group, but we need it every game. We have to take it one step at a time and not think too much about the next step.”
