Chapter 350: Debut?
Against Al Ain, City were ruthless.
Gündoğan controlled the match completely from midfield and scored twice, one in each half. Echeverri added another before halftime while Haaland converted a penalty just before the break. Oscar Bobb came off the bench to score late, and Cherki capped the performance with a goal near the end in a dominant 6–0 victory.
Lukas watched most of the second half seated beside João and Joanna near the team section while club cameras occasionally caught him reacting to goals.
Online, clips of him celebrating with the squad kept spreading everywhere.
The anticipation around his eventual debut kept growing larger by the day.
By the time City traveled to Orlando for the final group-stage match against Juventus, the mood around the squad had shifted completely.
The players looked sharper.
Looser.
More comfortable with each other.
And internally, there was already quiet excitement about finally registering Lukas afterward for the knockout rounds.
The Juventus game ended up being City’s biggest statement yet.
Doku opened the scoring early before an own goal doubled the advantage. Juventus pulled one back through Koopmeiners, but City never lost control of the match. Haaland scored shortly after halftime, Foden added another, and Savinho capped things off after coming off the bench before Vlahović scored late for Juventus. The final whistle eventually came at 5–2.
Another dominant win.
Another reminder of the level Lukas was stepping into.
But even while City were winning comfortably in matches, some of the most impressive moments were still happening behind closed doors during training.
Players had already started noticing it fully now.
The physicality concerns people online kept talking about were still real — Khusanov had nearly sent Lukas flying during that first training match — but every day he adapted a little more. Every day his timing improved. Every day he looked slightly more comfortable receiving under pressure against elite players.
And technically?
Nobody questioned that part anymore.
Not after the passes.
Not after the close control.
Not after the finishing.
One afternoon after training in Orlando, Haaland had walked beside him toward the dressing room and casually said:
"You know the scary thing?"
Lukas looked at him.
"You still look like you’re adjusting."
Then the striker grinned.
"That means it’s going to get worse for everyone else later."
* * *
June 29th.
The night before the Round of 16 clash against Al Hilal.
The Manchester City squad had just wrapped up their final training session in Orlando and returned to the hotel under the heavy Florida evening heat. Most of the players had already gone upstairs after dinner, some heading for recovery sessions, others disappearing into their rooms to relax before the match.
Inside one of the private conference rooms near the lobby, however, Guardiola and his coaching staff were still working.
Tactical boards covered one side of the room. Clips from previous Al Hilal matches played silently on a large screen while laptops, tablets, and notebooks lay scattered across the table.
Pep Guardiola sat near the front, leaning back slightly in his chair with one hand resting against his chin as the others spoke around him.
Pepijn Lijnders stood near the screen while Kolo Touré remained seated with his arms folded.
The discussion had already shifted from Al Hilal’s structure to Manchester City’s own lineup options for the next day.
Then Lijnders brought it up.
"So," he said casually while glancing toward Guardiola, "are we considering Lukas?"
A brief silence followed.
Not awkward.
Thinking silence.
One of the assistant analysts spoke first.
"He’s trained brilliantly," the coach admitted. "No doubt about that. But this is still a knockout game."
Another nodded slightly.
"The pressure is different now. If things become chaotic physically, maybe it’s better easing him in from the bench first."
Kolo Touré disagreed almost immediately.
"He’s ready."
The former defender leaned forward slightly.
"You’ve all seen it. The quality is obvious."
Another coach scratched his jaw thoughtfully.
"It’s not about quality. Nobody doubts the quality."
"It’s the occasion," someone else added. "This is his first official appearance for the club. Maybe not the ideal environment to throw him straight in."
Kolo shrugged.
"It’s also basically a glorified preseason tournament until the latter rounds," he argued. "And if we’re being honest, he’s outperformed some senior players in training already."
That earned a few small reactions around the room.
Not disagreement.
More acknowledgment.
Because everybody there had seen it too.
The touches.
The passing.
The fearlessness.
The way senior defenders were already adjusting themselves around him during sessions.
Lijnders crossed his arms.
"And if he starts well," he said quietly, "the confidence boost could be massive."
Still, Guardiola hadn’t spoken.
He remained seated silently, staring toward the tactical board while the staff continued debating around him.
Eventually the room quieted naturally.
Everyone looked toward him.
Pep stayed silent for another few seconds before finally leaning forward, resting both elbows on the table.
Then he nodded once.
"Alright," he said calmly.
The room focused immediately.
"This is what we’re going to do—"
* * *
The next evening.
Camping World Stadium, Orlando.
The heat had not disappeared even with the sun beginning to lower.
Floodlights illuminated the packed stadium while DAZN cameras swept across the stands filled with Manchester City and Al Hilal supporters ahead of kickoff.
Inside the commentary booth, Andrés Cordero adjusted his headset as the broadcast feed rolled live.
"Good evening everybody and welcome to Orlando, Florida," he said smoothly. "Tonight, we have a fascinating Round of 16 matchup in the FIFA Club World Cup as Manchester City take on Al Hilal for a place in the quarterfinals."
Beside him, his co-commentator Danny Higginbotham glanced down toward the pitch as players completed their final warmups.
"And there’s plenty of intrigue surrounding Manchester City tonight," Higginbotham added. "Not just because of the competition itself, but because this could potentially be the night we finally see teenage sensation Lukas Brandt make his debut for the club after officially being registered two days ago."
The camera immediately cut toward the City bench where Lukas sat in training gear beside Cherki and Oscar Bobb, focused entirely on the pitch.
"Not in the starting lineup tonight," Andrés Cordero continued, "but Pep Guardiola has spoken very highly of him internally since his arrival."
The lineups appeared on screen.
"For Al Hilal," Higginbotham began, "it’s Bono in goal. Back four of João Cancelo, Koulibaly, Al-Harbi, and Renan Lodi. Midfield trio of Ruben Neves, Milinković-Savić, and Nasser Al-Dawsari. Then up front it’s Malcom, Marcos Leonardo, and Kanno."
"And for Manchester City," Cordero continued, "Ederson starts in goal. Back four of Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Gvardiol, and Aït-Nouri. Gündoğan sits deepest in midfield with Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders ahead of him. Then the front three—Savinho, Erling Haaland, and Jérémy Doku."
The players emerged from the tunnel moments later.
The atmosphere rose instantly.
Pep Guardiola stood near the touchline calmly adjusting his sleeves while Simone Inzaghi watched from the opposite technical area.
Then finally—
kickoff.
City dominated possession immediately.
Al Hilal dropped deep into a compact defensive block while Haaland constantly occupied both center-backs, creating small pockets for Bernardo and Reijnders to receive between the lines.
Doku looked dangerous from the opening minutes.
Savinho too.
And in the ninth minute, the breakthrough finally came.
Doku drove aggressively down the left side before cutting a dangerous ball into the area. A slight deflection caused chaos inside the box, and Bernardo Silva reacted first, arriving quickest to poke the loose ball past Bono from close range.
1–0 Manchester City.
