MATCH REPORT AND PLAYER RATINGS - URAWA RED DIAMONDS 0-3 MANCHESTER CITY

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Manchester City easily overcame a much inferior opposition in AFC Champions League holder Urawa Red Diamonds to book a place in the FIFA Club World Cup final, in a game which saw £30 million signing Mateo Kovacic open his goalscoring account for the club.

After a disappointing run in the Premier League, it seemed imperative that City respond with a thumping win to raise morale. As well as this, it was crucial that they get a clean sheet for the first time since October 29th against Manchester United.

Subsequently, manager Pep Guardiola opted to go with a mostly full strength side, with the only exceptions being Julian Alvarez, Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias, who started the match on the bench.

City were faced with a tough deep block, and were struggling to break it down in a first half with very few chances. City's most direct route to goal appeared to be through long shots with Rodri and Phil Foden coming close on a few occasions.

But as it was, it was a moment of quality deeper on the pitch (combined with a stroke of fortune) that meant City were able to break the deadlock on the stroke of half time. Matheus Nunes beat two men near the halfway line with a shoulder drop and turn, and after exchanging passes with Bernardo Silva on the right wing, he saw his low cross deflected into his own net by the unfortunate Marius Hoibraten.

In the second period, Urawa were forced to open up, and chose to press City much higher up the pitch. This left much more space for City going forward in transitions if they beat the press, which they did multiple times in the early stages of the half.

And with the extra space granted to them in the second half, City took advantage in spectacular style thanks to the efforts of two heavily scrutinised players in recent weeks - Kovacic and Kyle Walker.

After beating Urawa's press, Walker carried the ball into midfield and played a fantastic outside of the foot through ball to the onrushing Kovacic, who was attacking the space left open by the movement of City's false nine, Phil Foden, dropping deep and occupying a centre back.

The Croatian kept his cool to lash past the keeper for his first City goal since joining from Chelsea for £25 million in the summer. This gave City the comfort blanket they needed to take their foot of the gas a bit and focus on controlling the game at a lower tempo to preserve energy for what would likely be a final against South American champions Fluminese on Friday.

The seal was well and truly put on the game when Bernardo Silva's deflected effort found the bottom corner from the edge of the box after Nunes's effort was well saved by the goalkeeper. This allowed City to rotate from this point, with Rodri, Foden, Akanji, Bernardo and John Stones all resting on the bench for the final on Friday.

City had a handful of other chances, with Nunes, Alvarez and Jack Grealish having golden opportunities in front of goal to add to City's lead, but a combination of indecisiveness, poor finishing and good defending saw their opportunities come to nothing.

But other than the missed opportunities, there was no way in which the game could've gone better for City. They didn't face a single shot on target against them all evening, and were comfortable defending transitions from the first to the last.

The Blues find themselves with the opportunity to become the official best team in the world on Friday evening, as they go into their match against Fluminese as the overwhelming favourites. They'll be weakened by the continued absence of Kevin de Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and leading goalscorer Erling Haaland, but will go into the game with bags of confidence that they can get the result over the line.

Here are the player ratings for the win in Jeddah:

Ederson - 6.5/10 - Very little to do. He didn't even have many touches of the ball compared to usual, but he didn't make any real mistakes with the touches he did have.

Walker - 6.5/10 - Incidentally, I actually think Walker played better against Crystal Palace than he did against Urawa; he seemed a bit less crisp with his passing and put in a few poor crosses in the first half. But his performances are certainly improving gradually, as he starts to become the crucial player that he once was for City again.

Stones - 6.5/10 - Understandably, Stones had a few rusty moments in possession, where he gave it away far too cheaply. However, from a defensive point of view, he dealt with the threat well and looked as solid and dependable as before his spell on the side line with injury.

Akanji - 7/10 - Positive with his passing, as he played a few good line breaking passes in the first half to help the Blues play forward. Like Stones, he dealt with the limited threat thrown at him without any difficulty.

Ake - 7/10 - Like the rest of the backline, Ake did the little amount of defending he had to do without any fuss, and offered good support for Grealish on the left hand side going forward.

Rodri - 7/10 - Kept the goalkeeper alert early on with a few long range shots that forced him to dive. Helped break the lines with a few good passes, and swept up loose balls in the middle on the rare occasions City didn't have the ball.

Nunes - 8.5/10 - His best performance for City yet. The Portuguese international was able to create chances to break the low block with his elite ball carrying ability and link up play with Bernardo on the right hand side. If he carries on like this, then he certainly has a future at the club as a useful player to keep in the squad to come in when he's required.

Kovacic - 8/10 - Other than his masterclass in his home debut against Newcastle United, this was arguably Kovacic's best game in a City shirt. After a poor start, he buzzed around dangerously - moving the ball and linking up with Grealish well on the left wing. He took his goal emphatically; it was a finish Sergio Aguero would've been proud of!

Bernardo - 7/10 - Started the game fairly ineffective playing as a false nine, as he and the rest of his teammates looked uninspiring. However, he became much more menacing when on the right wing, as he took his goal well and played an important role in City's opener.

Foden - 6.5/10 - After a frustrating start to the game on the right hand side where his threat was limited, he looked much more effective when positioned down the middle, as his quick feet and ability on the half turn looked to be City's most likely way of cutting Urawa open. Subbed off before he could make a big impact in the second half.

Grealish - 7.5/10 - Looked a dangerous outlet on the left flank, as he appeared to have the beating of his opposite number in one vs one duels. Should've got an assist for Nunes with a lovely delicate cross, and had he not had a Raheem Sterling-esque hesitation in front of goal, he'd have almost certainly scored his fourth goal in four matches for City.

Substitutes:

Bobb - 7.5/10 - Had an exceptional cameo off the bench. Bobb showed exceptional flashes of technique and skill when he received the ball on the right hand side, with the Norwegian looking better in his early appearances for City than Cole Palmer ever did. Given the way Palmer has thrived since he moved to Chelsea, it should be exciting to see the way Bobb develops if he continues to stay under Guardiola's management.

Gvardiol - 6/10 - Passed the ball well, and offered a threat when carrying the ball into space. Made a few defensive blunders however that could've been punished by higher quality opponents.

Alvarez - 6.5/10 - Led the line well after coming on, with the energy and high quality pressing back after lacking it against Palace on Saturday. Should've scored at least one of his chances, however credit must be given to the Urawa defence and goalkeeper, who marshalled him well from an attacking point of view.

Phillips - 6.5/10 - Tidy with the ball in the middle. Helped break up the play a few times to stop Urawa from transitioning from defence into attack.

Gomez - 6.5/10 - Solid cameo from the young Spaniard. Glided around the pitch playing as a creative inverted full back, and came close with a ferocious long ranged shot.