Juventus are now likely to face Real Madrid in the Club World Cup Round of 16 after a thumping 5-2 defeat to Manchester City saw them finish runners-up in Group G.
Both teams had already qualified for the knockouts after winning their opening two games against Wydad and Al-Ain, so it was a head-to-head for top spot. The Bianconeri could afford a draw, having scored one more goal, and made six changes including Dusan Vlahovic and the first Filip Kostic appearance over a year since his loan to Fenerbahce. City gave Ballon d’Or winner Rodri his first start since the devastating knee injury in September 2024, but Erling Haaland was initially rested.
See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.
The best way to live stream the Club World Cup is with DAZN, which is offering a free service this summer, which can also be upgraded to a premium service. DAZN’s free offer means ads during games, and no replays or extended highlights, but it’s still a pretty tempting deal that will surely get fans and others signing up quickly.
Michele Di Gregorio stuck out a boot to deny Bernardo Silva in the opening minutes after Rayan Ait-Nouri skinned Manuel Locatelli down the left, but it was only a warning.
Moments later, Ait-Nouri caught Alberto Costa napping for a through ball down the left, as Jeremy Doku cut back inside Pierre Kalulu to sweep into the far bottom corner.
Juventus wasted a golden opportunity to equalise when Vlahovic horribly scuffed the finish from 12 yards on an Alberto Costa roll across, but less than a minute after that Ederson got it all wrong playing out from the back, so Teun Koopmeiners intercepted to score from a tight angle.
The errors continued, as Kalulu was practically undisturbed when Matheus Nunes pulled back from the by-line, but still somehow side-footed it into his own net from eight yards.
Di Gregorio got down to parry the Ait-Nouri effort from outside the box, then managed to just fingertip an Omar Marmoush screamer round the base of the near post.
Haaland came on for the restart and almost scored within 60 seconds, just failing to connect with the Savinho roll across.
He did bundle a Matheus Nunes assist over the line even with a poor touch from point-blank range, though Koopmeiners was fast asleep on the through ball down the right.
Kenan Yildiz came off the bench and drilled just wide, then Juventus lost Nicolò Savona to a badly sprained ankle and Dusan Vlahovic failed to beat Ederson one-on-one with a dinked finish.
Instead, Haaland’s first touch controlled a long Ederson clearance and his lay-off was meant to be for Phil Foden, eventually leading to the tap-in with help from Savinho.
Di Gregorio used his foot to deny Haaland, but it came to the edge of the area to Savinho for an unexpected scorcher off the underside of the bar with his weaker right foot.
Juventus made the scoreline slightly less humiliating when Kenan Yildiz sent Vlahovic running with a smart through ball.
Di Gregorio was also alert in stoppages to deny Rayan Cherki one-on-one.
Juventus 2-5 Manchester City
Doku 9 (M), Koopmeiners 11 (J), Kalulu og 26 (M), Haaland 52 (M), Foden 69 (M), Savinho 76 (M), Vlahovic 85 (J)
Player statistic
| 9' |  |
Jérémy Doku (Assist: Rayan Aït-Nouri) | ||
| Teun Koopmeiners | |
11' | ||
| 26' |  |
Pierre Kalulu |
| 52' | |
Erling Haaland (Assist: Matheus Nunes) | ||
| Pierre Kalulu |  |
64' | ||
| 69' | |
Phil Foden (Assist: Sávio) | ||
| 75' | |
Sávio | ||
| Dusan Vlahovic (Assist: Kenan Yıldız) |
|
84' |
Match statistic
Whole team chickens out
Italian clubs are falling apart 😮💨
Seria A=VERGOGNA!
Perhaps if Seria A clubs employed more Ital8an talent and git back to its roots it would regain credibility.
How bad must they want to get rid of Douglas Luiz if McKennie is playing so much. Mixed selection but hopefully strong first 11 decided by start of season.
These kind of matches really show how average players like Vlahovic, Gonzalez, Koop, and Kostic are.
And no need to talk about the Temu defenders at the back..
Vlahovic and Koopmeiner are 2 of the worst signings in recent memory.
Hopefully Vlahovic will be gone but Koop needs to improve.