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Manchester City kickstarted their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over Wydad AC in Philadelphia.
Multi-time Premier League champions started with their two new signings, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki, with their new skipper, Bernardo Silva, on the bench. It took only two minutes for City to open their tally on Wednesday (local time), as goalie El Mehdi Benabid could only palm Savinho's cross before Phil Foden put the ball into the net, marking the quickest goal of the tournament so far. Wydad, though, responded well, with an audacious effort from South African midfielder Thembinkosi Lorch, causing Ederson to backpedal, before the goalie made a fine save, preventing Cassius Mailula from scoring. It was the 42nd minute when Jeremy Doku doubled the lead, volleying in Foden's corner just before the half-time, demotivating the Moroccans. After the half-time, City coach Pep Guardiola introduced Erling Haaland and Rodri as substitutes just before the hour mark. City managed to see off the rest of the game without any trouble for the scorekeepers and statisticians. Following the match, as quoted by FIFA's official website, Foden said, "I am very happy for the team to start the tournament with a win. It was difficult at times with the heat. They were a top team on the counterattacks. The tournament is very important, not just for me, but for all the players. It is important to get your sharpness now in this big competition." City coach Guardiola said, "The first game in the group stages are always the tricky one. We learn from here and the second one will be better. The season will be a long one, but it is important to be here." Wydad's Fahd Moufi said, "We did a good job against a team as big as Manchester City, despite the defeat. I believe we represented Morocco and the Wydad fans well in this match. We must build on this effort by looking for a positive result against Juventus in the next match." (ANI)
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