Manchester City 6 Al Ain 0 - How good is Ait-Nouri? Will Guardiola avoid Real Madrid?

Manchester City defeated Al Ain 6-0 to set up a deciding group game against Juventus to determine which of them will face Real Madrid in the Club World Cup’s round of 16.

Ilkay Gundogan put City ahead when his chip from the edge of the box ended in the back of the net and Claudio Echeverri made it two with his first goal for the club, a free kick from about 20 yards.

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Pep Guardiola’s side were 3-0 up by half-time as Erling Haaland scored a stoppage-time penalty and though Al Ain, owned by City owner Sheikh Mansour’s brother, resisted for a long period of the second half, Gundogan got his second, for 4-0, on 73 minutes, Oscar Bobb added a fifth on 84 minutes and Rayan Cherki a sixth five minutes later.

Juventus and City, who had further chances, now have six points each in Group G and are level on goal difference but the Italian team have scored one more goal, meaning City must beat them on Thursday in Orlando to finish top and avoid playing the winners of Group H, the position occupied at present is Madrid, in Miami five days later.

Here The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell explains the game’s key talking points.

Did Gundogan mean that?

If it occurred to the German, with so many bodies around him and such little time to get a shot away, that he could dink the goalkeeper from there, then all you can do is applaud.

In reality, it's probably more likely that he caught a glimpse of several white City jerseys running in at the back post and saw fit to chip a ball into their general direction.

For most footballers, neither of the above would have registered as a possibility but Gundogan’s cerebral play in the penalty area remains even at 34 years old. The finesse he showed with his weak foot earned applause from his team-mates, particularly Nico Gonzalez, who looked like he had been expecting a rifled shot across goal.

Most people were, considering Gundogan had picked up a headed clearance and chopped onto his left foot to evade a defender and buy himself time to get a shot off.

Gundogan said afterwards he was "stuck" between shooting and crossing but "I'll take it".

Gundogan’s future has been the subject of speculation in the past week. Guardiola did not rule out an exit on Saturday, saying “no news was good news” but also admitting that he has to cut the size of his first-team squad somehow.

City have bled experience in the past year with their past two captains, Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne, no longer involved (Walker was left out of the squad for this tournament after being sent to Milan on loan in January) plus Rodri’s knee injury keeping him out from September to May.

To lose Gundogan would be another big presence gone and one who can still provide these flashes of brilliance, which he also showed on the last day of the domestic season when he produced an overhead kick finish and a pirouette to win a penalty for the second goal against Fulham.

What does Ait-Nouri offer as a wing-back?

Out with the old and in with the… West Midlands wing-backs?

That was the order of the day as Guardiola started with two former Wolves players manning City's flanks.

He stayed true to his word that he would change the entire line-up here from the one that beat Wydad of Morocco 2-0 on Wednesday but he also trialled a back three, with new signing Rayan Ait-Nouri at left wing-back and his former Molineux team-mate Matheus Nunes on the other side.

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Much like with another newcomer, Tijjani Reijnders, in that opener in Philadelphia, this was a very strong debut from Ait-Nouri, in which his technical polish really came to the fore. There was a clear attempt from City to switch play to the wing-backs earlier in build-up as they were pinging diagonals to him whenever they could.

Ait-Nouri impressed as a wing-back (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

He is so direct and two-footed that Al Ain struggled to read whether he was going down the line or cutting inside. There is such unpredictability to his dribbling, which added a new dimension to City’s attacks.

In the first half, City's wing-backs combined when Nunes burst past his man but overhit a cross to the back post. Ait-Nouri retrieved the ball and skipped by two players as he drove into the box only to slip at the crucial moment.

It was the one time all night that his feet deserted him.

In the second half, he produced an outrageous nutmeg while running to keep the ball in play and also had several jinking runs that nearly ended in a goalscoring opportunity, including a cross which would have found Haaland had the striker expected the ball to be crossed so early.

His addition should have the Norwegian licking his lips, though. Rather than having to find space in a crowded penalty area, Ait Nouri's quicker deliveries are likely to lead to more clear-cut chances for him.

Will Echeverri stay in the squad?

Echeverri was thrown in at the deep end five weeks ago when he was brought on for his City debut to help save the day against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final.

The 19-year-old Argentinian did have their best chances of the game towards the final whistle but squandered them, leading to many questioning the decision to turn to such a young player in those circumstances. Guardiola defended his call, pointing to those opportunities as evidence that his movement in tight areas was effective enough to impact such a high-level game.

After sitting out the opening game at this competition, Echeverri was given a start here, playing off Haaland.

27' GOLAZOOOOO @ManCity ECHEVERRI scores his FIRST for Man City — a stunning free kick masterclass! 🎯⚽ Watch the @FIFACWC | June 14 - July 13 | Every Game | Free | https://t.co/i0K4eUtwwb | #FIFACWC #TakeItToTheWorld #MCIAIN pic.twitter.com/fCQznypYQu — DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) June 23, 2025

He is still raw but he fizzed around relentlessly for 45 minutes and scored a well-taken free-kick goal to make it 2-0, gently curling the ball over the wall.

Echeverri has had to bide his time since he was signed in January 2024 from River Plate and loaned back to the Buenos Aires side for 18 months but he is being given the chance to impress now.

Echeverri celebrates his first City goal (Photo: Waleed Zein/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Scoring here will have helped his case, even if he does have to improve his awareness at times to avoid being dispossessed with his back to goal.

With Guardiola looking to cut the numbers in his squad, it remains to be seen what the plan is for Echeverri but he has the quality on the ball, which is always seemingly coming to him inside the penalty area — something that does not happen by chance.

What next for Manchester City?

Thursday, June 26: Juventus, Club World Cup group stage (Orlando), 3pm ET, 8pm UK

What next for Al Ain?

Thursday, June 26: Wydad, Club World Cup group stage (Washington), 3pm ET, 8pm UK

(Top photo: Shaun Botterill - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

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