Manchester City beats Fluminense and is World Cup champion – 12/22/2023 – Sport

Considered the best team in the world for some time, Manchester City can now claim to be champions. With a 4-0 victory over Fluminense, on Friday (22), in Saudi Arabia, the English team fulfilled its favoritism and won the World Cup for the first time.

Julián Álvarez (2), Nino (own goal) and Foden scored the title goals, capping a year in which the club finally went beyond the limits of the United Kingdom. Sovereign in the English Championship, after repeated failed attempts, they reached the European Champions League. And he advanced to the World Cup, a tournament in which he punished the Asian champion and the South American champion.

The dominance was already extensive on domestic soil: City has won five of the last six English trophies – or the Premier League, as modern people prefer, widely recognized as the best national football league. However, international success was missing, which was important for fans and those who supported the expensive squad.

The blue club from Manchester has been owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group since 2008, founded and led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, member of the United Arab Emirates monarchy. In practice, the club belongs to the royal family, which invested 2.27 billion euros (R$ 12.16 billion, at current prices) until it saw the expected continental glory, with the European title.

Close to FIFA (International Football Federation), the UAE government uses sport in an attempt to clean up its image, linked to the dictatorship and restrictions on freedom of expression. With City, the results began to appear in 2012, when the team beat the English for the first time in 44 years.

In 2016, acclaimed coach Pep Guardiola arrived. While dominance was established in England, winning the Champions League became a priority. The team finished almost in 2021, in the final against Chelsea – who would be Palmeiras’ tormentor in the World Cup –, and achieved in 2023 what they were looking for so much.

In Saudi Arabia, favoritism was great. And, even without three of its starters, two of them very important, the British team overcame the Japanese Urawa Red Diamonds in the semifinals. 3-0 does not give a measure of the authority displayed on the field, with 25 shots, compared to two from the opponent.

Back at King Abdullah Sports City, in Jeddah, City found another team in the final that likes to have the ball at their feet. But Fernando Diniz’s Fluminense is not Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, and the game began to be resolved in the first minute.

Playmaker Marcelo forced a turnaround and handed the ball to Aké, who advanced and hit with his left foot, two steps from the half-moon. Fábio even touched the ball and saw it explode against the post until it was offered to Julián Álvarez, who, with his chest, hit the unprotected net.

In 40 seconds, the challenger’s hopes practically collapsed, as he maintained his original plan of exchanging passes. The team drew applause from the Saudi public in moments in which they risked touches inside their own area and came to have superior possession of the ball.

In the 17th minute, Cano received the ball from Ganso and was brought down by goalkeeper Ederson. Polish referee Szymon Marciniak even whistled a penalty before realizing that the assistant was pointing to offside.

Shortly after, the game was practically decided. At 27, Foden received an excellent pass from Rodri in the area, on the left, and sought the touch into the middle. Nino attempted the cut, hit his own net, and the reaction became practically impossible.

Fluminense still had a good opportunity in the initial stage, with a header from Arias. At half-time, Diniz called on John Kennedy, in the hope that the Copa Libertadores talisman would get back on track. He didn’t solve it.

City’s superiority was already clear, which only failed to increase quickly in the second half because of Fábio’s good saves. At 27, the goalkeeper could do nothing when Julián Álvarez hit a cross from the left, and Foden appeared with a cart to find the net. At 43, Álvarez feinted André and finished with precision to establish the rout.