Lorch Shines As Wydad Falls To Manchester City

Thembinkosi Lorch delivered an impressive performance, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Wydad Casablanca from losing to Manchester City in their Group G match at Lincoln Financial Field on Wednesday.

Manchester City scored both their goals in the first half through Phil Foden and Jérémy Doku, comfortably maintaining their lead without adding to the scoreline in the second half. Wydad’s participation means all African teams have now played in the tournament, with only one victor: Mamelodi Sundowns, who defeated Ulsan HD earlier on Wednesday.

Despite Wydad’s loss to City, who are favorites to win the competition, Lorch was undoubtedly the star of the show for the Moroccan side. The former Orlando Pirates player, currently on loan from Sundowns, caused City some problems, playing first on the left flank and then centrally in the second half, though he couldn’t do it all alone. He even attempted an audacious long-range strike from the center circle, hoping to catch Ederson off his line, but it was unsuccessful.

In addition to Lorch starting, another South African, Cassius Mailula, was also in Wydad’s lineup, occupying the focal point of the attack. However, Mailula was substituted before the second half due to a lack of service upfront. Abdelmounaim Boutouil, who played for Sundowns for two seasons, also started for the Moroccan giants in defense.

It didn’t take long for City to open the scoring. Savinho’s cross was parried by goalkeeper El Medhi Benabid directly into the path of Foden, who hooked it in to score for Pep Guardiola’s side. Omar Marmoush nearly doubled City’s lead within ten minutes from the edge of the box, but his shot went agonizingly wide.

In a rare Wydad attack, Lorch was inches away from connecting with a sliding effort on Mohamed Moufid’s cross, allowing City to escape unscathed. Nathan Aké also came close to doubling City’s lead from a corner, but his header went wide.

Lorch later broke free but lost his footing at a crucial moment after a challenge from Nico O’Reilly. He still managed to control the ball and set up Mailula, but the former Sundowns striker’s shot was blocked. Foden could have completed his brace before halftime from Rayan Cherki’s cutback, but despite a powerful shot, Benabid got down quickly to make a superb save.

In the 42nd minute, City doubled their lead. After his earlier attempt for a brace, Foden whipped in a corner kick, and Doku was left unmarked in the box to flick the ball past Benabid. It was poor marking by Boutouil, who appeared unaware of the situation around him, allowing Doku to be first to the ball and get on the scoresheet.

Wydad made one substitution at halftime, with Mailula being replaced by Mohamed Rayhi. Doku should have added a third for Manchester City when he dispossessed a lackadaisical Guilherme Ferreira, but Benabid bailed out his defender with another good save.

Guardiola then flexed his squad’s strength, bringing on Erling Haaland, Rodri, and Oscar Bobb on the hour mark, much to the crowd’s delight. Although City was expected to seize control and score more goals with these introductions, the game proceeded at a walking pace from their end.

Instead, City finished with ten men when Rico Lewis was sent off for a dangerous follow-through on Samuel Obeng, with the English player’s studs making contact with the Ghanaian international’s face. Haaland had a chance to score a third late in the game, but Benabid stretched himself to make an impressive save.