Haaland hits milestone 300th goal as City top group G with 5-2 win over Juventus in Orlando

Erling Haaland marked his 300th career goal in style as Manchester City demolished Juventus 5-2 to finish top of Group G in the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup. The Norwegian striker’s second-half strike settled any doubts about his form, while City’s Brazilian winger Savinho capped off the night with a stunning fifth that kissed the crossbar before rippling the net.

Pep Guardiola’s men were in cruise control at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, and their rampant display sends a clear message to the tournament’s heavyweights. Their prize? A last-16 clash against Al-Hilal on Monday night, under cooler 9pm conditions. Guardiola, visibly satisfied, praised his squad: “It’s been a long time since we had a performance like this—on and off the ball.”

The match kicked off with flair and immediate drama. City took the lead in the 9th minute when Rodri played Rayan Aït-Nouri down the left. The Wolves loanee found Jérémy Doku, who cut inside and finished neatly past Michele Di Gregorio. But Juventus responded swiftly—City keeper Ederson’s wayward pass landed at the feet of Teun Koopmeiners, who slotted it home to equalise embarrassingly.

City didn’t dwell. A Matheus Nunes burst down the flank found Savinho, whose low ball into the box saw Juve’s Pierre Kalulu inexplicably turn it into his own net. The own goal restored City’s lead and underlined their growing dominance. Their attacking quartet—Aït-Nouri, Doku, Nunes and Omar Marmoush—constantly interchanged positions, leaving Juve’s defence in chaos.

Rodri, returning from an ACL injury sustained last September, lasted 65 productive minutes. Guardiola called him “the best player in the world,” highlighting how much City missed his presence.

Rain poured down briefly in the Orlando heat, providing relief to the players and the crowd—including a watching Thomas Tuchel. The game paused but resumed swiftly, and Marmoush forced a fingertip save before the break to keep City in front.

Haaland entered at half-time and fluffed his lines early on, mistiming a shot from Savinho’s cross. But he made amends soon after. A Reijnders through ball released Nunes down the right; he centred to Haaland, who mis-hit it—but luck was on his side. The ball bobbled in, and with it, his 300th goal across club and international football was sealed.

Phil Foden replaced Doku and made an immediate impact. A silky move saw Haaland feed Savinho, who returned it across goal for Foden to tuck in City’s fourth. The fifth came when Savinho unleashed a thunderous shot from the edge of the area that rattled the bar before bouncing in—a goal worthy of sealing the result.

Juventus did pull one back through Dušan Vlahović late on, but the game was already well out of reach. City’s performance, Guardiola said, “showed the players what’s needed to get back to our top level.”

Of Haaland’s milestone, Guardiola chuckled: “Congrats on 300 goals—it’s good, right? His manager only scored 11 in his whole career. I admire him a lot.”

With City flying into the knockouts and Haaland returning to form, few sides will fancy facing the reigning European champions.