Julian Alvarez scored two goals to crown Manchester City as Fifa Club World Cup Champions on Friday in a 4-0 triumph over Fluminense at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah Saudi Arabia.
The match was played between English giants,Manchester City and Fluminense of Brazil. The said game held significant importance for Manchester City as they aimed to win their first-ever FIFA Club World Cup trophy and also become the first English side to win five trophies in a calendar year.
The Citizens got off to a perfect start as they were able to secure an early goal in the opening minute of the game;Nathan Ake’s effort towards goal from the edge of the box was tipped onto the post by the Fluminense goalkeeper, Fabio.But the Argentine wonder kid, Alvarez was the quickest to pounce on the rebound and chest the ball neatly into the empty net to give Manchester City the lead.
Despite going down by a goal,the Brazilian side remained focused and begun to pressurize and dominate possession against the European champions, Manchester City, with a big hope of getting an equalizer.
Their hopes were shattered as Nino attempted to intercept a sweeping cross from Phil Foden but deflected off him and ended in the back of the net to double Manchester City’s lead in the 27th minute of the game.
City held unto their 2-0 lead heading into the interval but should have been home and dry; Jack Grealish missed a golden opportunity after running through on goal, with his right foot attempt parried away by Fluminense’s goalkeeper,Fabio three minutes before the interval.
After the recess, the Citizens started from where they left off.In the 48th minute,Bernardo Silva reacted quickest to a rebound and directed his header towards the right hand post. But Fabio, who had been busy throughout the game, came to the rescue of Fluminense to pull off an eye-catching save,denying Manchester City their third of the game.
The chances kept coming for Manchester city as they continued to split open the Fluminense defence; Phil Foden made himself some space in the box and unleashed a low shot but Fabio was at the helm to bill Fluminense out again in the 52nd minute.
However,Fabio was unable to replicate the resistance he had shown 20 minutes earlier as Phil Foden got on the scoresheet and made it 3 for Manchester city in the 72nd minute of the game after he was slid in by Julian Alvarez.
The world champion, Julian Alvarez, had the last say in the game as he scored his second on the night in the 88th minute to put the icing on the cake after superb work from Matheus Nunez, who found his way through the defence of Fluminense and squared the ball to Alvarez who in turn, kept a cool head to beat Fabio to make it 4 nil to Manchester City.
The win against Fluminense saw Guardiola’s men win their first-ever Fifa Club World Cup in the club’s history and will be aiming to defend the title in the next edition. Also, the cup triumph over Fluminense leaves Guardiola as the manager with the most wins in the Fifa Club World Cup history, with 4 to his name.He beats Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, who have 3 and 2 respectively.
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Story by: Rabbi Adu Agyei | univers.ug.edu.gh
