Manchester City were originally scheduled to face Brentford at the Etihad. However, this match had to be postponed as European champions City progressed to the Club World Cup final in Saudi Arabia. City defeated Japan’s Urawa Reds in Tuesday’s semi-final and faced Copa Libertadores winners Fluminense 3-0 in Friday’s final.
Extra time was required the last two times England teams faced Brazilian clubs in the final of the competition (Liverpool vs Flamengo in 2019 and Chelsea vs Palmeiras in 2022). But City won 4-0 and Julian Alvarez’s 40th-minute goal gave the league hope. Nino’s own goal doubled the lead in the 30th minute before Phil Foden put the game away in the 72nd minute and Alvarez made it four with the second just before the end. City’s trip to the Gulf region has been routine, as evidenced by the seven unanswered goals. It remains to be seen how well he will adapt to the festive schedule of the Premier League. It was a superb performance from Pep Guardiola, despite his side not being under much pressure during the mini-tournament. No English manager, not even the great Sir Alex Ferguson, had ever won five trophies in a single year before, but City have now won their historic treble – the first since Ferguson’s Manchester United won it in 1999. The UEFA Super Cup (from Sevilla) and the Club World Cup.
Since taking over at Manchester in 2016, the Spaniard has won an impressive seven trophies between 2018 and 2021, including two League Cup wins and a Community Shield win.”Winning the treble was really special, but to win two more and now five major titles shows the special mentality of this team, the club and the fans,” Guardiola said (via Manchester City’s official website). “It’s something no British team has ever achieved and we’ll always remember the great times we had together.”
