Juventus began their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with an emphatic victory over Al Ain by five unanswered goals.
The contest took place at the Audi Field in Washington, DC, and the Bianconeri managed to assert their authority from start to finish.
Igor Tudor maintained his 3-4-2-1 formation, spearheaded by Randal Kolo Muani, with Francisco Conceicao and Kenan Yildiz completing the attacking trident.
Alberto Costa and Andrea Cambiaso took the flanks, while Weston McKennie replaced injured club captain, Manuel Locatelli in midfield, starting alongside Kphren Thuram. Nicolo Savona slotted at the back alongside Pierre Kalulu and Lloyd Kelly.
Juventus scored five past hapless Al Ain
The goal festival began in the 11th minute when a slick series of passes culminated with a pinpoint cross from Costa and was met by the towering header of Kolo Muani who opened the scoring for the Turin-based giants.
Ten minutes later, it was Conceicao’s time to leave his mark, as he dribbled past a few opponents inside the box, before beating his compatriot, Rui Patricio, with a deflected shot.
At the half-hour mark, Yildiz made his presence felt as he took on his marker before unleashing a fabulous shot from the outside of the box that found the bottom corner.
Just before the half-time whistle, Thuram picked up Kolo Muani with a sensational long ball, and the latter made no mistake from close range.
After the interval, Al Ain looked revitalised, and they would have got their consolation goal if it wasn’t for Michele Di Gregorio’s brilliance.
Kolo Muani & Conceicao scored braces
Afterwards, Conceicao followed in Kolo Muani’s footsteps by bagging his brace with an exquisite solo effort.
Douglas Luiz, who came off the bench in the second half, came close to opening his Juventus account on a couple of occasions, but was denied by the post.
Juventus have thus taken the lead in Group G ahead of Manchester City who beat Wydad by two goals earlier on Wednesday.
The Bianconeri’s next contest will take place on Sunday against the Moroccan club in Philadelphia.
