Kolo Muani and Conceicao both score twice as Juventus thrash Al Ain 5-0

Randal Kolo Muani and Francisco Conceicao each scored two goals as Juventus beat Al Ain 5-0 on Wednesday in their first Club World Cup match. The game took place just hours after the team visited the White House.

The Italian club sent some staff and players to meet US President Donald Trump earlier in the day. They gave him a Juventus shirt, and Trump asked if they thought a woman could ever play in the men’s team. It seemed he was making a comment about transgender athletes. Juventus director Damien Comolli replied that the club already has a very good women’s team. The players didn’t say anything during the visit.

But on the pitch, the Juventus team let their football do the talking. They easily beat Al Ain from the UAE at Audi Field in front of 18,000 fans. The win put Juventus top of Group G, ahead of Manchester City, who had earlier beaten Wydad AC.

Juventus coach Igor Tudor said: “You don’t go to the White House every day, so it was a great experience. On the pitch, we played very well and kept a good pace. It’s a strong start.”

Kolo Muani, who is on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, scored the first goal after 11 minutes with a header from Alberto Costa’s cross.

Ten minutes later, Conceicao, on loan from Porto, got away from a defender and scored with the help of a deflection. Kenan Yildiz added a third after 31 minutes, shooting into the near post from the edge of the box.

Kolo Muani got his second goal just before half-time with a clever finish. Al Ain thought they had scored through Kouame Autonne, but it was ruled offside. Then Conceicao scored again, thanks to another slight deflection.

Kolo Muani almost got his third goal later in the game, but goalkeeper Rui Patricio made a good save. Douglas Luiz also came close with a shot that went just wide.

“Great match”

Juventus finished fourth in Serie A last season and want to win a trophy this summer in the USA.

“We played a great match,” said Kolo Muani. “I’m happy and want to help the team. Let’s see how many more goals I can score.”

Al Ain now have to face Manchester City next, which won’t be easy.

“We respected Juventus too much at the start, and that let them score a few easy goals,” said Al Ain coach Vladimir Ivic. “But we’re at the World Cup, playing top teams. Now we have to focus on the next game.”