Contrasting debuts for Man City's new recruits at the Club World Cup

Manchester City enjoyed a comfortable debut at the Club World Cup on Wednesday. The team led by Pep Guardiola generated plenty of expectation as fans wondered if they had improved on last season's level - and if the new signings would deliver. The Santpedor coach did not hesitate to play them.

Of the four signings, Bettinelli will not get any minutes throughout the season. So, Guardiola counts on three. Among them, Ait-Nouri did not feature against Wydad Casablanca.

Attention focused on Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki. The Dutchman acted as a Rodri stand-in, who is still recovering from a cruciate ligament injury, and did not disappoint. He was the team's backbone, stopping counterattacks and starting offensive moves.

Everything Reijnders did well, Cherki failed to match. The young French player, sometimes used as a No.9, tried to do too much and lost too many balls—something Guardiola surely didn't like, substituting him after 60 minutes.

It was only the first test for two players expected to be key figures. But if one left a great impression beyond the stats, it was the former Milan man.