Manchester City progressed to the final of the 2023 Club World Cup after beating Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds 3-0 on Tuesday night.
Marius Hoibraten’s own-goal on the stroke of half-time handed City the lead following a frustrating opening 45 minutes, but goals from Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva ensured it was a comfortable finish to the semi-final.
The European champions struggled to find a way past a well-organised Urawa side in what was a slow and somewhat monotonous first-half display, on a stifling warm night in Jeddah.
It took until the 31st for City to register their first shot on target, as Matheus Nunes wriggled inside and fired at goal, forcing opposition goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa to palm the ball over. Prior to that the only chances of note came from Rodri twice firing wide from distance and Silva seeing his attempt arc well over the crossbar.
Pep Guardiola’s side switched the ball well, moving it from side to side but struggling to find any penetration. With no Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, it was a set-up more akin to that of two seasons ago, with Silva and Phil Foden both enjoying spells as a false nine.
The latter saw his shot palmed away by Nishikawa in the 35th minute, and the 37-year-old stopper also comfortably held an effort from Nunes as Urawa's defence began looking increasingly fatigued. It was a tired defensive moment that ultimately handed City the lead, as Nunes was fed the ball by Silva in the advanced areas and fired a low cross into the box.
The flat-footed Hoibraten couldn’t sort his feet in time and his sliced clearance inadvertently flew into his own goal, just seconds into one minute of added-on time. That City scored via an opposition error rather than their own ingenuity was telling, and it was another 45 minutes where the Blues didn’t attack at their optimal levels.
City had lacked incisive passing, but improved markedly after the break. Within seven minutes of the restart, Kyle Walker’s excellent through ball freed Kovacic, who strode beyond the Urawa defence and confidently slotted the ball beyond Nishikawa for his first City goal.
Nunes should have added a third soon after when Jack Grealish picked him out in the middle, but the ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers man failed to hit the target with his close-range header. Yet it mattered little, as Silva netted again just before the hour.
A compact Urawa defence in the first half now looked so porous. Manuel Akanji’s long, flat pass picked out Nunes, who forced Nishikawa into another save. The ball then fell to Silva inside the box and his shot fortuitously fired into the bottom corner after deflecting off Hoibraten.
City did push for a fourth, but with such a convincing lead their impetus unsurprisingly waned. Substitutes Oscar Bobb and Julian Alvarez both went close after their introductions, while Kalvin Phillips and Sergio Gomez also produced late strikes from distance after coming off the bench.
The 3-0 win sets up a final showdown against Fluminense on Friday, City's first opportunity to become world champions. Here's how we rated the players...
1. Ederson- 6
Didn't have to make a single save but made an important last-ditch tackle in the 80th minute to prevent a scoring opportunity for Urawa's Shoya Nakajima.
2. Kyle Walker- 6
Played a superb pass for Kovacic's goal but nearly gifted Urawa two goals in the early stages of the second goal.
3. John Stones- 6 (off 77)
Helped move the ball forward from defence and scrambled back to make one important clearance early in the second half.
4. Manuel Akanji- 6 (off 65)
Was booked for a challenge in the 24th minute, but it was a rare error from the centre-back.