Juventus 2-5 Man City: Old Lady powerless to withstand a City storm

Down in one goalmouth, a member of Manchester City’s ground staff – only supposed to be over in America tending to the training surfaces in Boca Raton – brushed his hand on the grass. Ninety yards away, a member of the Juventus backroom staff was chucking balls up to see if they bounced properly.

Trepidation in the air, a lack of trust in this Orlando pitch that had a very thin layer of the green stuff on top and required an industrial hose to prevent it completely drying out before City eventually cemented top spot in style, waiting to see if a last-16 match up with Real Madrid is forthcoming.

The local groundskeepers overdid the watering to such a degree that splashes were visible as Rodri controlled an early ball during a tournament that has taken something of a battering for the quality of its playing areas, Jude Bellingham typically outspoken and suggesting they aren’t easy on the knees.

So while there must have been heavy deliberations, to start Rodri for the first time since doing his cruciate and meniscus in September – and the first time since collecting the Ballon d’Or – felt like a bit of a gamble.

Rodri lasted just over an hour. With a little rust, to be expected given the lay-off. It’ll come in time and he did admit this week that anywhere near his best will take months rather than a couple of substitute appearances during matches already won.

‘We missed Rodri a lot last season, right?’ Guardiola said as he eulogised over the team performance. ‘Which team is not going to miss the best player in the world?

‘His composure, he knows exactly what he has to do with the ball, the personality, many things. 

‘I didn’t expect him to play many minutes after 45 but he said, “a few more”. He’ll be ready for the next one.’

The sight of Rodri twisting or turning balls around the corner in these conditions – the weather was up and down too – surely induced anxiety on the bench. 

Defensive midfield is the worst possible position to suffer a serious knee injury.

But he came through unscathed as City hammered Juve, looking and feeling slicker than last season.

Jeremy Doku finished a top move when slipped through by the industrious Rayan Ait-Nouri after nine minutes before Ederson gifted Juventus an equaliser moments later, Teun Koopmeiners pouncing on Ederson’s attempt at finding Bernardo Silva inside City’s third.

Incredibly, that absurdity was trumped by Pierre Kalulu midway through the first half. Matheus Nunes broke towards the byline, cutting to the back post, and under no pressure Kalulu passed into his own net.

The bizarre continued, half-time substitute Erling Haaland scoring the scrappiest of his 300 career goals. 

Nunes was again away, found by Tijjani Reijnders, and his cross hit Haaland’s left foot, then his right as he walked into an empty net. Fellow substitute Phil Foden was later doing similar, tidying up another neat move.

There remained time for Savinho to thrash in a fifth from distance, while Dusan Vlahovic – perennially linked with the Premier League – found a consolation. ‘We’re here to win,’ Silva said. ‘Now it’s kill or be killed.’