Jeremy Doku was also on target before half-time at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where the majority of the 37,446 crowd were supporting City but most of the noise was made by the fans of the Moroccan side.
The afternoon was slightly marred for City as Rico Lewis was sent off for a dangerous tackle late on, but Pep Guardiola was satisfied with the winning start.
“It is so hot. The humidity is not easy. We had good moments, many new players. The first game in this group stage is always really, really important. I saw many, many good things,” Guardiola said.
City have come to the Club World Cup eager to turn the page after a disappointing season.
Tougher tests await than that provided by the team that finished third in the Moroccan league, with the English club next facing Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates before completing Group G against Juventus.
Meanwhile, Federico Valverde missed a stoppage-time penalty as Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal to open their Club World Cup campaign.
A large contingent of Real fans in a crowd of 62,415 at the Hard Rock Stadium were left frustrated after new manager Xabi Alonso’s first game in charged ended with the points shared.
For the Saudi club, with Italian Simone Inzaghi also making his debut on the bench, it was an impressive performance where they caused Real’s defence plenty of problems before securing a hugely encouraging surprise result.
Al-Hilal started off in effervescent fashion and went close in the 19th minute when Salem Aldawsari volleyed back in to the box and Marcos Leonardo’s effort flew just wide.
But Real’s quality was starting to shine through and they grabbed the lead in the 34th minute.
Gonzalo, starting in place of the absent Kylian Mbappe, started the break from deep and a clever exchange of passes concluded with Rodrygo drilling a low ball into the box where Gonzalo, who had continued his run, provided a delicate finish.
It was a classic counter-attacking goal but it did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the Saudi side who continued to press forward with energy.
Four minutes before the break, they drew level when Raul Asencio was ruled to have pulled down Marcos Leonardo and Portugal international Ruben Neves calmly tucked away the penalty.
With three minutes of normal time remaining Real were handed the chance to take all three points when Mohammed Al Qahtani was ruled to have put his hand in the face of Fran Garcia as he tried to hold off the challenge of the Real left-back.
But Valverde’s shot was saved by the diving Bounou to give the Saudi team a point after a hugely creditable performance. (AFP)
