Manchester City ease past Wydad but lose Rico Lewis to controversial red card

European dominance at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 continues — at least when it comes to intercontinental matchups. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City upheld the trend with a composed 2-0 win over Moroccan champions Wydad AC, though the victory came at a cost.

Fast start seals the tone

The game barely had time to settle before City struck. Within two minutes, Phil Foden capped off a sweeping attacking move inside the Wydad box, calmly slotting the ball home to make it 1-0. It was the kind of blistering start City fans have come to expect — but to their credit, Wydad refused to crumble.

The Casablanca-based side showed flashes of attacking threat, making occasional incursions into City’s final third and forcing some uncharacteristic defensive errors from the Premier League giants. But the second goal, coming just before half-time, all but ended their hopes. A cleverly delivered corner found Jeremy Doku at the far post, and the Belgian winger converted smartly from close range — 2-0.

Second-half drama and a questionable call

The second half lacked attacking fireworks, but the final minutes delivered a flashpoint. With the result seemingly sealed, Rico Lewis was shown a straight red card in controversial circumstances. The young full-back appeared to execute a clean sliding challenge, but made minimal contact with his opponent during follow-through. The Wydad player’s dramatic reaction left the referee unconvinced — and even VAR backed the decision, to widespread disbelief.

City saw out the match with ten men and little resistance from the Moroccan side, securing three points but losing a key player for their next outing.

Next up

City face Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates on 23 June in what, on paper at least, looks more like a pre-season tune-up than a high-stakes World Cup clash. But with knockout stages looming, there's little room for complacency.

2025 FIFA Club World Cup

Manchester City - Wydad AC 2:0 (2:0)
Goals: Foden, 2 (1:0); Doku J., 42 (2:0)

Manchester City: Ederson; Ake; Vitor Reis; Lewis R. (till 88); Reijnders; Foden (Rodri, 60); Sávio Moreira (Matheus Nunes, 91); Cherki (Håland E., 60); O'Reilly; Marmoush (Gundogan, 69); Doku J. (Bobb, 59)
Bench: Ortega S.; Dias R.; Stones; Aït-Nouri; Gvardiol; Akanji; Khusanov; Nico González; Bernardo Silva; Echeverri
Red cards: Lewis R. 88'

Wydad AC: Benabid; Moufid; Boutouil; Moufi; Meijers Bа. (Moutaraji, 75); Oliveira G.; Moubarik; Zemraoui (Malsa, 62); Lorch (Aziz Ki, 84); Mailula (Rayhi, 46); Amrabat N. (Obeng, 62)
Bench: El Motie; Harkass; Benktib; Arthur; Pedrinho; Fatihi; Mwalimu
Yellow Cards: Mailula 16