Roundup: City, Juve advance as Madrid closes in at Club World Cup

NEW YORK, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Manchester City and Juventus reached the last 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday while Real Madrid moved closer with a gritty win over Pachuca despite playing nearly the entire match with 10 men.

Pachuca, Al Ain and Wydad Casablanca joined previously eliminated Auckland City, Ulsan, Urawa Red Diamonds and Los Angeles FC in exiting the tournament in the United States.

In Philadelphia, 20-year-old Turkiye international forward Kenan Yildiz scored twice as Juventus routed Morocco's Wydad Casablanca 4-1 to clinch a knockout phase spot with a game to spare.

Abdelmounaim Boutouil gifted the Italian club the lead with a sixth-minute own goal and Yildiz doubled the advantage by thumping a 20-yard effort into the top-right corner.

Thembinkosi Lorch narrowed the deficit, lifting a shot over goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio after Nordin Amrabat's defense-splitting pass.

The impressive Yildiz made it 3-1 as he wrong-footed Boutouil before calmly side-footing into the far corner.

Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic put the result beyond doubt by converting a 94th-minute penalty after being fouled by Guilherme Ferreira.

Juventus now has six points from its two games while Wydad is eliminated irrespective of its last group-stage fixture against Al Ain.

"It was a different kind of match, also because of the [early] kick-off time and the tempo was lower," Juventus manager Igor Tudor said afterwards. "They had prepared for us as well. We scored early and that helped us. But in football, you never know, you always have to stay alert.

"I'm never calm, not even at 3-1 or 4-1. I always see danger. Credit to the boys, two good wins. Tonight they'll have an evening off and a dinner out. They've earned it. Now we prepare for City, which will be a great challenge," he added.

In Charlotte, Real Madrid registered its first win of the tournament with a 3-1 defeat of Mexican side Pachuca.

The Spanish giants were reduced to 10 men in the seventh minute after Raul Asencio was shown a straight red card for pulling down Salomon Rondon when the Venezuela international was through on goal.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Real Madrid took the lead through Jude Bellingham, who charged into the box after Fran Garcia's pass before lashing low into the far corner.

Arda Guler doubled the lead with a clinical finish after combining with Gonzalo Garcia and Federico Valverde made it 3-0 by volleying home at the far post following Brahim Diaz's lofted pass.

Pachuca pulled one back through Elias Montiel's deflected strike 10 minutes from time.

The victory lifted Real Madrid to the top of Group H with four points while Pachuca is last and cannot advance to the next stage.

"We had to defend with one less player in a low block and in that situation you have to know how to suffer and have the humility to find the right moment," Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso said.

"We weren't able to show what we've been working on but the defensive line held strong and we had good periods of possession. We took a lot of positives from the game, especially the three points."

In Atlanta, Ilkay Gundogan struck twice as Manchester City trounced Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 6-0.

Claudio Echeverri, Oscar Bobb, Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland were also on target - the latter from the penalty spot - as City secured its place in the next round.

Al Ain had only 26% of the possession and managed only one shot on target, sealing its early exit from the competition.

"We spoke a lot before the game about how to maintain our pressure so that we could score the goals that we did," Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said.

"The guys that played today took their opportunity. We are fortunate to have a lot of talented players that are waiting for their chance."

In Sunday's other fixture, Austria's RB Salzburg drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal at Audi Field in Washington D.C.

Al Hilal had 58 percent of the total possession but managed only four shots on target while Salzburg had six attempts saved by Morocco international goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

The result leaves Salzburg second in Group H with four points, two ahead of third-placed Al Hilal. ■