Manchester City thrashed Saudi Arabian club Al Ain 6-0 on Sunday to secure a place in the last 16 of the Club World Cup after Real Madrid shrugged off an early red card to beat Mexican side Pachuca 3-1.
Juventus proved too strong for Wydad Casablanca while Red Bull Salzburg and Al Hilal drew 0-0 as the second round of group games at the tournament came to a conclusion.
The match between City and Al Ain in Atlanta was dubbed the “Abu derby”, with the English club’s owner and United Arab Emirates vice-president Sheikh Mansour facing off against his elder sibling, Sheikh Mohamed, president of the Emirati team and also the country.
Ilkay Gundogan put City ahead early on before 19-year-old Claudio Echeverri netted his first goal for the club with a free-kick and Erland Haaland slotted in the third with a penalty in first-half stoppage time.
In the second half, Gundogan struck again before two substitutes joined in, with Oscar Bobb rolling in the fifth and Rayan Cherki grabbing his first City goal for 6-0.
The result, in a game watched by a crowd of over 40,000, means both City and Juventus are through to the knockout phase after each winning their first two matches in Group G.
They will now face each other in Orlando on Thursday to decide who tops the section.
Juventus triumphed 4-1 against Moroccan giants Wydad in Philadelphia, as Kenan Yildiz played a starring role.
In Charlotte, Real Madrid overcame the early sending-off of Raul Asencio to beat Pachuca and get their first win under new coach Xabi Alonso.
Defender Asencio was dismissed after just seven minutes for pulling down Salomon Rondon with the Venezuelan clear on goal.
Real are level at the top of Group H on four points with Salzburg, who drew 0-0 with Al Hilal in Washington, DC.
Real Madrid and Salzburg meet each other next in Philadelphia, while Al Hilal have two points and can still qualify with a win when they play Pachuca, who are now out.
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