Erling Haaland netted his 300th career goal as Manchester City stormed past Juventus 5-2 to top Group G at the Club World Cup on Thursday, capping a commanding performance amid sweltering Florida heat and a torrential downpour.
Jeremy Doku opened the scoring early, but City’s lead was briefly undone when goalkeeper Ederson gifted a goal to Teun Koopmeiners. The English champions quickly regained control after Pierre Kalulu turned the ball into his own net at Camping World Stadium.
Haaland, reaching the milestone for club and country, came off the bench to bundle in City’s third. Phil Foden and Savinho – the latter with a spectacular long-range strike – sealed the rout before Dusan Vlahovic grabbed a late consolation for Juventus.
The result means City advanced with a perfect record from their three group games and should, at least on paper, have a more straightforward path through the knockout stages.
Juventus had beaten City 2-0 when the sides met in the Champions League in December, but this was a vastly different performance compared to the squad that won just once in 13 matches during a dismal run late last year.
It also marked a shift in gear from City after opening the tournament with routine wins over Wydad Casablanca and Al Ain.
With Ballon d’Or winner Rodri making his first start since September, City were fluid and energetic. They started brightly, with Bernardo Silva seeing a header saved by the feet of Michele Di Gregorio before Doku struck in the ninth minute.
Summer signing Rayan Ait-Nouri slipped Doku through with a fine pass, and the Belgian tucked home after cutting inside Kalulu.
Juventus responded quickly, and City failed to capitalize on a reprieve after Vlahovic scuffed an effort wide. Ederson then carelessly gave the ball away from the resulting goal kick, and Koopmeiners rifled a shot past the Brazilian.
City responded well. Tijjani Reijnders, Rodri and Omar Marmoush all saw efforts blocked, and the pressure paid off in the 26th minute. They benefited from a stroke of luck as Kalulu deflected Matheus Nunes’ ball past Di Gregorio for an own goal.
Just before halftime, the scorching sun gave way to heavy rain, but City remained composed. Savinho tested Di Gregorio, who also denied strikes from Ait-Nouri and Marmoush.
Marmoush was replaced by Haaland at the break, and the Norwegian soon made an impact. Reijnders played in Nunes, who rolled a pass into Haaland’s path. The finish wasn’t clean, but it was enough from close range.
Ederson kept out Vlahovic as Juventus searched for a way back, but City’s fourth came soon after. Haaland fed Savinho, whose pass found Foden to fire in from close range.
Savinho then added his name to the scoresheet with a thunderous strike off the underside of the bar in the 75th minute.
Juventus were well beaten, but Vlahovic kept battling and pulled one back six minutes from time after good work by Kenan Yıldız.
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