Brave Wydad fall to defeat against Manchester City

A gutsy performance from Wydad Casablanca salvaged a game that could've turned into a thrashing

Well, it could’ve been worse.

Wydad were handed a 2-0 defeat to the Club World Cup holders Man City but the Moroccans can have considerable pride after a resolute performance.

I said coming into this game that Wydad will do well to lose by only one goal. The Red Castle didn’t do that, but they weren’t far off it, avoiding what could’ve been a humiliating defeat.

Let’s be frank, the gap between these two teams is gargantuan and nothing quite highlighted that more than the debutants on the pitch.

Pep Guardiola handed debuts to Victor Reis, Rayan Cherki and Tiijani Reijnders. The trio were signed for a combined total of $152 million (according to Transfermarkt). On the other hand, Mohamed Amine Benhachem welcomed Guilerhme Ferreira, Bart Meijers, Nordin Amrabat and Stephane Aziz Ki who arrived at the cost of about $330 thousand.

And when Phil Foden opened the scoring after three minutes following a poor save from El Mehdi Benabid, it looked like it could get ugly.

But Wydad were brave.

They regrouped and rather than just sitting in their own box, defending for their lives, they took the game to City.

Nordin Amrabat showed a pace that many of us thought had left him, and Thembi Lorch was at his magical best. He twice carved excellent chances through moments of skill. In the 22^nd minute, he juggled over two different city players before his cross was hacked clear.

Ten minutes later he came even closer. Released by Amrabat, he outmuscled Reijnders before selling him with a dummy, but slipped as he did so. Fellow South African Cassius Mailula was on hand to shoot, but it gave time for Ederson to come out and make a sharp save.

While we have to keep in mind that City were winning and were playing at a comfortable pace, Wydad showed that they can cause even the best teams problems, ending the game with 12 shots to City’s 15.

While Benhachem will be delighted with his team’s threat on attack, he will likely be furious at the lax defending when City scored, particularly their second, a simple corner kick to the back post where Jeremy Doku outmuscled Abdelmounaim Boutouil to tap in, something that should never have happened.

And many will point to the fact that City, knowing they were in the lead, could ease themselves through the match. They didn’t start Haaland, Rodri, Gvardiol or Manuel Akanji. But even given that, Wydad kept quite Cherki on his debut who, unlike his performance a couple weeks ago against Spain, was kept entirely quiet.

Once again, the North African side’s true best performers were the fans. While they didn’t bring quiet the numbers of Al Ahly or the cohesion of Esperance, the Wydadis were in magnificent voice as usual. Videos of them in Times Square yesterday and taking over central Philadelphia today are across the internet and they made their presence be felt in the stadium, most notably when they stopped the game after throwing some flares onto the pitch.

With that support, an improved defensive shape and some more Mzansi magic, Wydad fans will come away from this game more confident than when they entered it. Rightly so.