Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden both felt ‘more comfortable’ after Manchester City switched things up against Urawa Red Diamonds. The Premier League champions were surprised by their Club World Cup semi-final opponents, and opted to move Foden inside and Silva wide to try and respond. It worked a treat, as the Blues ran out 3-0 winners that booked them a place in the final against Brazilian side Fluminense on Friday.
Pep Guardiola said “We didn’t expect Urawa so compact, so deep – our free man was Manu [Akanji] and our wingers. Before the game I spoke with the team, said maybe we change it. We put Phil more centre forward, he turned and attacked incredible really well the last line. Bernardo can play everywhere, when he went to the right the team made a step forward. He can change the game with his actions, Phil felt more comfortable in the middle and Bernardo felt more comfortable on the wing.”
City were made to work hard for the win before some skill from Matheus Nunes earned them the opener in first-half stoppage time, but Guardiola was still left happy that they did enough to avoid a ‘crisis’.
Pep Guardiola said ” “The rhythm, the way they play is intense, it was not easy. The second goal was the key, to score the first goal in the final action of the first half, to score the second with incredible actions from Kyle [Walker] and Mateo [Kovacic] made it easier. When you win 3-0 it looks easy, when we don’t win it’s because City are in crisis and are not playing good. The target was here, we did it again and now go to the final and prepare.”
