Pep Guardiola and his team completed the “quintet” after defeating Fluminense 4-0 in the FIFA Club World Cup final on December 22.

Scoring: Alvarez 1′, Nino 27′ (own goal), Foden 72′, Alvarez 88′.

Julian Alvarez’s opening goal at 40 seconds made it easy for Manchester City to kick and control the match from start to finish. Despite the absence of offensive pillars such as Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, or Jeremy Doku, the British representative still outperformed their South American opponents. The 4-0 victory at King Abdullah Sports Stadium helped Manchester City become the first English team to win five titles in a calendar year. Pep Guardiola and his team also extended the championship streak of European clubs at the FIFA Club World Cup to 11.

Captain Kyle Walker (center) lifted the championship cup to the joy of Man City teammates at King Abdullah Sports Stadium, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Reuters

Rushing forward right after the opening kickoff, Manchester City soon scored from a foul pass from veteran defender Marcelo. After Nathan Ake’s long-range shot hit the post, Julian Alvarez was there in time to shoot with his chest into an empty net.

Fluminense tried to rally after conceding, but the level of the gap made the South American representative’s attack ineffective. What they could do was just make long-range shots that did not pose a danger to Ederson’s goal.

When they couldn’t find a way to penetrate Man City’s defense, Fluminense had to concede a second goal, also from a defensive error in the 27th minute. From Phil Foden’s cross, Nino rolled to block it but accidentally let the ball go. goes into the home net.

Coach Guardiola before the match appreciated Fluminense’s rhythmic play, but the South American representative could not demonstrate that style of football against such a strong opponent. It wasn’t until the end of the first half that Fluminense made Ederson show off his talent with Jhon Arias’ header.

Impatience and helplessness made the South American team play harder in the second half, while Manchester City actively reduced the tempo of the match. By midway through the half, the British representative scored a third goal, also coming from a broken pass from the opponent. Alvarez escaped and crossed for Foden to cushion the ball from close range to increase the score to 3-0.

Alvarez (left) scored two goals and contributed one assist in the 4-0 win over Fluminense in the FIFA Club World Cup final. Photo: Imago

Man City was only happy for two minutes because key midfielder Rodri had to leave the field due to injury after hitting the ball with the bottom of Alexander’s shoe. Rodri then still managed to move up to the podium to receive the FIFA Club World Cup Best Player award.

Thanks to Rodri and a solid defense, Manchester City did not concede a single goal in the tournament. They scored seven goals through two matches, of which the last goal was scored by Alvarez, the best player in the final. Using the ball in the penalty area, the Argentine striker eliminated the opponent’s defender and then scored a diagonal shot to beat goalkeeper Fabio to seal a 4-0 victory.

Man City won the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time—a title that coach Guardiola described as possibly only coming once in a lifetime. In fact, the Spanish strategist has won this tournament four times, including twice with Barca and once with Bayern. From 2025 on, winning the tournament will be more difficult with a new format of 32 participating teams.

Under Guardiola, Manchester City won 16 titles in seven years. In 2023 alone, they will be crowned in five arenas, including the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, European Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.

Squad

Man City: Ederson; Walker; Dias; Stones (Gvardiol 75); Ake (Bobb 81); Lewis (Kovacic 61); Rodri (Akanji 74); Silva; Foden (Nunes 81); Grealish; Alvarez.

Fluminense: Fabio; Xavier, Nino (Marlon 74), Melo (Barbosa 61), Marcelo (Alexander 61); Andre, Martinelli; Arias, Ganso (Lima 60), Keno (Kennedy 46); Canoe