In their first Club World Cup match of the year in Washington, DC, Juventus defeated Al Ain 5-0. Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao both scored goals.
The Italian giants climbed to the top of Group G ahead of Manchester City, who had earlier defeated Wydad AC in a previous game while sending a delegation to visit US President Donald Trump earlier on Wednesday.
Trump questioned some Juventus players and staff members about their expectations of a woman starting in their first team after they presented them with a club shirt.
Trump was making a point about transgender athletes, but Juve general manager Damien Comolli responded that the team had a “very good women’s team.”
Later in the day, the Juventus players remained silent while remaining much more expressive, letting their on-field acting carry the show at Audi Field.
Kolo Muani, who was on loan from Paris Saint-Germain to play in the US tournament, opened the scoring with a stunning header from Alberto Costa’s cross after 11 minutes.
Ten minutes later, Conceicao’s side, who is on loan from Porto, skipped past one defender in the box before firing home with a deflection.
After 31 minutes, Turkish forward Kenan Yildiz made a third-minute breakthrough by drilling in from the near post.
Kolo Muani’s deft finish in stoppage time added to Al Ain’s misery with a deft finish in the second half.
Before Conceicao struck again, benefiting from another minor deflection, Kouame Autonne was denied a goal for the UAE side for offside.
Kolo Muani’s hat-trick was easily accomplished when Douglas Luiz blasted narrowly off-target late on, but goalkeeper Rui Patricio’s strong defense prevented him from doing so.
Juventus, who finished fourth in serie A, are aiming to win the Club World Cup to make up for a trophyless year.
Source: Aljazeera
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