This, of course, is the slight flaw in the admirable idea of the Champions League winners taking on the Copa Libertadores champions, or whoever makes it to the final of the competition. Last year, Real Madrid took on Al-Hilal in, supposedly, the biggest game in the world. In 2016, Madrid vied for global dominance against, erm, Kashima Antlers.
So perhaps these aren’t the best two teams around. Perhaps they are not very well matched, either, given Fluminense’s record signing cost £6m and five of their regular starters are 33 or older. City should win with ease.
But what the game does throw up is a fascinating tactical clash between the doyen of modern European football, Pep Guardiola, and the architect of a tactical revolution growing in Brazil, Fernando Diniz.
Esta historia es de la edición December 22, 2023 de The Independent.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición December 22, 2023 de The Independent.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Saints win nine-try thriller with Smith's last-gasp kick
Fin Smith knocked over a last-minute penalty as Northampton beat league leaders Bath 35-34 in a “phenomenal” game of nine tries.
How overlooked star is key to Forest's magnificent rise
The best league position Nottingham Forest had achieved in 28 years came last season.
United 'a different team' in spirited draw at Liverpool
If the measure of a Manchester United player is how he performs against their fiercest rivals, then Amad Diallo has begun in auspicious style.
FAMILY MISFORTUNES
ITV's four-part drama 'Playing Nice' is bland porridge that buries any potential for a good thriller
Jolie has become cinema's most risk-averse star - she needs Kidman's courage
Staid biopic 'Maria' and erotic thriller 'Babygirl' expose how far the two women's careers have diverged, says Xan Brooks
'I'm a clown in a war zone'
Mohammed Nayef Salem tells Maira Butt how an unlikely vocation came to be a lifeline for hundreds of Gaza's children
Ride or die in team Trump
Alex Hannaford asks who, if anyone, can stop the incoming president from wreaking serious havoc in his second term
Filmmaker Baena died by suicide, coroner confirms
Jeff Baena's cause of death has been confirmed by officials, after news broke that the indie filmmaker had died aged 47.
'Significant' losses in Kursk for Russia and North Korea
Russian and North Korean forces suffered \"significant\" losses during intense fighting in Russia's southern Kursk region, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
First lawsuit filed against city of New Orleans after 'preventable' terror attack
Police targeted for its 'negligence' leading up to rampage
