Juventus coach Igor Tudor admits that Manchester City were simply far too strong for his team after losing 5-2 to Pep Guardiola's side.
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Juventus lose 5-2 to Man City in Club World Cup Tudor acknowledges gulf in class between teamsItalian side face Real Madrid in next roundFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Juventus suffered a heavy 5-2 defeat against City in their final Group G match at the Club World Cup. Despite having already secured qualification, the Bianconeri were outclassed by Pep Guardiola's side, with five different scorers – Jeremy Doku, Pierre Kalulu (own goal), Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Savinho – inflicting the misery on the Italians. Teun Koopmeiners and Dusan Vlahovic found the net for Juve but they fell short.
City topped the group with three wins from three, while Juventus settled for second place with six points.
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Tudor opted to rest several key players, and the decision exposed Juventus' lack of depth against City’s relentless press and possession dominance. The Premier League giants finished with 77 per cent possession and 11 shots on target to Juventus' two. Tudor's side will now play Real Madrid in the round of 16, but they are worried about fatigue and not being ready tactically.
Tudor said after the game that City were clearly better and promised not to overreact. He called the game a learning experience instead of a setback.
Watch every FIFA Club World Cup game free on DAZNStream nowWHAT IGOR TUDOR SAID?
Asked for his thoughts on the game from his side's perspective, Tudor said to : "Bad, conceding five goals is never nice. Certain things also need to be said about their quality. We had qualified, we wanted to rest someone and they played too well. We suffered, we were unable to steal the ball and not well even when we had it. They pressed in a way that we were unable to get out. To do well we need to be complete, so it can be a different match. That's how it went.
"We paid for everything, we had to be perfect and they spend a lot when they want. They have much stronger players than ours, but without looking for excuses. It takes a lot of conditions put together to do better, but today they weren't there."
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Juve will now face Xabi Alonso's Madrid in the knockout stages next week while City will take on Saudi giants Al-Hilal.
