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By TUM BALOGUN and JACK GAUGHAN AT THE MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM Published: 08: 54 AEST, 23 June 2025 | Updated: 11: 59 AEST, 23 June 2025 3 View comments Follow Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Manchester City take on Al Ain FC in the Club World Cup at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That was a crazy few minutes to end a half that was defined by quality. City have a commanding lead because Al-Ain have not been able to deal with set-pieces. And City have the quality to punish those mistakes. Hard to tell what the Al-Ain boss does here because their general set-up has been alright. City haven't created that much from open play but the dead-ball situations are a major issue. Haaland makes it THREE! The City marksman opens his account in the tournament with a calmly taken penalty, which sends the goalkeeper the wrong way. If there was the faintest hope of getting back into this one, it's definitely gone now. City are awarded a spot-kick for a foul on Akanji. It feels a tad soft to me and is a crushing blow for Al-Ain. They thought they'd made it to the break. City are adamant they should have a penalty and they were almost caught on the counter as they protested. Ait-Nouri get a yellow card for ending the attack, meanwhile, the referee has been advised to go to the monitor. We know what that means. .. City have continued to push but Al-Ain don't seem to be fazed by their position in this match. You would have bet your mortgage on Haaland at least hitting the target there but alas, the deadly marksman has just slid a shot across the face of Al-Ain's goal when he might have scored. This will not be an issue today but Guardiola is likely to be a little concerned with some aspects of this first-half performance. The Premier League side still look vulnerable to counterattacks. Al-Ain are really holding on now. Just over 10 minutes until they can take a break from this Man City onslaught. I'm extremely doubtful they're going to make it there before conceding at least one more goal. We know how much Gvardiol loves to get on the scoresheet and he goes close with a header off the post from another set-piece. Al-Ain cannot cope with City in dead-ball situations right now. It could, as I feared, get very ugly. WHAT A FREE-KICK! First start and that's his first goal, Echeverri sticks one into the top corner from a set-piece on the edge of the area. I don't want to take anything away from the teenager but the Al-Ain wall was a disaster there. There was a huge gap that the 18-year-old used as a guide to curl his effort beyond the Al-Ain stopper. Are we sure Ait-Nouri is a defender? The new recruit just showed off the skills that are sure to excite the Etihad this season after retrieving a wayward Nunes cross. The 'defender' controlled it on the byline, stood up his defender, cut inside and drove towards the box before his foot gave way. Superb stuff from the former Wolves man. City are back in control. But Guardiola is still cutting a frustrated figure on the sideline. I imagine he's also slightly surprised by the threat Al-Ain have posed on a couple of occasions, but his team seem to be growing into the game as it progresses. It's really good stuff from Al-Ain. They are certainly giving City something to think about. They've just managed to nick the ball off Gonzalez and ran through on goal but couldn't make the most of the opportunity. In fairness, it took a great save from Ortega to keep them off the scoresheet. BREAKTHROUGH! Gundogan gives City the lead with an effort that looked like a stunner but on reflection, it might have been a tad fortunate. City won't care as they're in front and now the game is firmly in their hands. The German's cross to the far post deceived the Al-Ain goalkeeper and nestled in the bottom corner of the net. More good work from Al-Ain. The side have managed to break through the City midfield and bear down on City's defensive line. There has 't been enough quality to capitalise but they'll have confidence from the start. It is a back three. Ait-Nouri is staying high and wide in a left wing-back role, while Nunes is on the right. The guy really can't catch a break and be allowed to play in his favoured position, can he? It's been a fairly decent start by Al-Ain; they've already shown some desire to counter, which should help make this game interesting. We are underway in Atlanta. My assumption is that City are going to record a mammoth scoreline tonight but football is a funny old game, isn't it? The light show has begun, the long drawn-out intros are about to begin and that means it's nearly go-time. Settle in for a goalfeast. There's a fair bit of speculation that City will be playing a 3-5-2 system - it's always hard to tell with Guardiola. I recall Guardiola adopting the formation for a bit during the 2022-23 season but it still feels a bit weird to see a Pep side playing with a back three. The former Wolves stopper was signed by Al-Ain for this tournament but has already been dropped after just one game. Admittedly, he did concede five times, but none of the strikes were really his fault. You get the feeling that the City boss is already in the 2025-26 season. Scarred by his side's dramatic drop-off last term, Guardiola is feeling the pressure to show he's still got it. Maybe that's why he's looking so stressed over in the US. If you ask me, the man needs a holiday! The players are out into the lights of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as well close in on kick-off. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like many fans have turned out for this one. Maybe there'll be a mad dash in the last 30 minutes. Pep Guardiola, Man City boss, DAZN: It's a huge day for the Al-Ain squad. It's the proverbial shop window here. Turn in a grand performance and you can completely transform your career. The UAE side also know that if they lose, then their Club World Cup dreams are over after only two matches. The former Lyon man is probably on a watching brief today, which might explain the choice of attire. Cherki didn't really show City fans what the hype was all about in his debut on Wednesday. He'll be eager to put that right if he is involved today. False alarm, people, City are mercifully wearing their changed white strip and not the gross lime green one. Elsewhere, Al-Ain are in their very fetching third kit. I think that base colour is cyan, right? Alright, the late game of the night has just come to a close, which means we have three fixtures in from the day's action. Juve have kept their place at the top of City's group, while Al-Hilal will be gutted not to have secured a win against Slazburg after their impressive 1-1 draw with Madrid last time out. As I mentioned earlier, this stadium has already hosted one fixture in this tournament and is remembered for the scarcity of the crowd. We're all hoping that we'll have some atmosphere from the UAE fans because this could be a very long night them. The Manchester City contingent has touched down at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium ahead of the 2am kick-off. The highlights on that training top is making me think that we're going to have that horrible third kit to look forward to in just over an hour. If you haven't seen it, you won't want to miss the monstrosity. Vladimir Ivic, Al-Ain boss, pre-match: Just what the Al-Ain defence wanted to see. Erling Haaland starts against the UAE side tonight in a much-changed line-up for City. Pep promised and he's delivered with a ton of alterations to the side that beat Wydad. Bernardo Silva gets his first start at City skipper, while Ait-Nouri makes his debut for the side. Starting XI vs Al Ain: Ortega, Akanji, Khusanov, Gvardiol, Ait-Nouri, Nico, Gundogan, Bernardo (C), Nunes, Echeverri, Haaland. Substitutes: Ederson, Bettinelli, Dias, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Marmoush, Doku, Rodri, Reis, Savinho, Cherki, Foden, Bobb, O'Reilly. Not sure how I feel about these 'history making statistics' given we're about a week into a revamped competition but here it is, anyhow. The Bellingham's have become the first set of brothers to score at the FIFA Club World Cup. Well done, lads. Bet you never had that on your bucket list. All my talk of mercy is almost certainly misplaced given the need for City to record a big score tonight. Yes, the Premier League side will reach the next round with a win tonight but finishing top of Group G is vitally important because of their potential knockout opponent. With Real Madrid likely to top Group H, it would be advisable to finish as group winners. As things stand, Juventus' goal difference is six better than the Cityzens. A win by that margin would ensure that Guardiola's side need only a draw in their final group stage match against the Turin giants. I understand that this stadium might not be for everyone but it's definitely working for me. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta hosts the Atlanta Falcons in NFL and MLS side Atlanta United. The ground has already hosted one game in this summer's tournament, with Chelsea and LAFC playing here when the Blues earned a win in front of many empty seats. Let's hope it's a bit more lively tonight. Pep Guardiola, Man City boss, pre-match: Ah, maybe this is the act of mercy? Guardiola has confirmed that he will make 10 changes to the side that beat Wydad in the week, though Rodri and John Stones are not yet ready to start as their return from injury is managed. Looking at who's left in the squad, that means the likes of Erling Haaland, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Ruben Dias will be the biggest names from the start in Atlanta. Let's be honest, whoever he fields, City come into this match as overwhelming favourites. In fact, that word doesn't do it enough justice. It's not every day two brothers get the chance to see their respective football teams play against one another. We are all familiar with Sheikh Mansour (middle right), the owner of City, and the man with the bottomless pockets who has fuelled the club's dominant recent history. Well, his big bro, who also happens to be the president of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed (middle right), is the president of Al-Ain. He will not be looking forward to this one, especially after seeing the side lose 5-0 in their opener against Juventus. Perhaps a message of mercy will be communicated to the City roster ahead of kick-off. By Tum Balogun City's opponents tonight at the Abu Dhabi side Al-Ain - the most successful side in the country's history. Al-Ain, founded in 1968, won the league title a record 14 times, the first of which dates back to 1977 and most recently in 2021-2022. They finished 5th in the UAE Pro League last term. Togolese striker Kodjo Laba, who racked up a 25 goal contributions across all competitions during the last season, is their danger man. By Tum Balogun The fun never stops at Mail Sport and tonight we have the final match of the second round of fixtures from the Club World Cup for you as Manchester City take on Al-Ain. What have you made of the tournament so far? The shocks from the Brazilian sides have certainly helped, as have the wobbles of Real Madrid. There was no such issue for City in their opener, as they cruised to a 2-0 victory over Wydad on Wednesday. A win for City tonight secures safe passage into the next round and I will be dumbfounded if the result is anything but that. Kick-off at the stunning Mercedes-Benz Stadium is at 2am. Ahead of that we'll have all the updates from Atlanta, team news and then all the action when it gets underway. Wtf is the City shirt?

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