Sports

LOS ANGELES — The Boston Celtics used a hot start and a strong finish to put away the Los Angeles Lakers 126-115 on Tuesday in a Christmas clash of storied NBA franchises.

Kristaps Porzingis scored 28 points and pulled down 11 rebounds and Jayson Tatum added 25 points for the Celtics, who withstood a 40-point effort from Lakers star Anthony Davis.

The game between the teams that share the record for most NBA titles with 17 apiece was one of five on the Christmas Day slate that started with the New York Knicks’ 129-122 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Square Garden.

The reigning champion Denver Nuggets beat Golden State 120-114 in a clash of the last two title winners that left Warriors coach Steve Kerr fuming at the officiating.

Lakers star LeBron James, coming off a 40-point performance in a win over the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Saturday, scored just 16 points on five-of-14 shooting.

James added nine rebounds and eight assists, but a slightly “lethargic” start — which Lakers coach Darvin Ham said could have been due to holiday distractions or an unusually early afternoon start — proved too much to overcome.

The Celtics roared out of the gate to a 12-0 lead and led by as many as 18 before the Lakers began to chip away.

Davis scored 20 first-half points, driving for a basket that cut the deficit to 58-57 in the waning seconds of the first half.

Both teams got a scare late in the second period, when James and Jaylen Brown collided and both went down, James holding his left knee and Brown his back.

James would go briefly to the bench before returning while Brown went to the locker room and was diagnosed with a lower back contusion. He eventually returned to finish with 19 points.

Tatum said the thing he liked best about the victory was how Boston responded after the Lakers closed the gap then took a two-point lead early in the third on Jarred Vanderbilt’s dunk.

Boston answered with seven straight points and the Lakers wouldn’t get in front again as the Celtics improved to a league-best 23-6.

“And it’s a big win, right? It’s Christmas day and it’s tough to win on the road,” Tatum said. “So just the way we responded and executed late in the game.”

Kerr blasts officiating 

In Denver, Jamal Murray scored 28 points and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic overcame a poor shooting day by going 18-for-18 at the free-throw as the Nuggets took their winning streak to five games.

Despite connecting on just four of 12 shots from the field Jokic finished with 26 points, adding 14 rebounds and eight assists to help the Nuggets come out on top in a seesaw battle.

The Warriors came into the contest riding a five-game winning streak. But superstar Stephen Curry endured a frustrating afternoon, scoring just four points in the first half on the way to a total of 18 on seven-of-21 shooting.

He was three-for-13 from three-point range and handed out four assists.

Canada’s Andrew Wiggins helped keep the Warriors in it, scoring a team-high 22 points off the bench.

But after Jokic took 14 second-half free-throws Kerr blasted the NBA for “legislating defence out of the game”.

“If I were a fan, I wouldn’t have wanted to watch the second half of that game, it was disgusting,” Kerr said.

“It was just baiting refs into calls, but the refs have to make those calls because that’s how they’re taught,” added Kerr, who decried what he called “A parade to the free-throw line.”

In New York, Jalen Brunson scored 38 points for the Knicks as they finally got the better of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, halting Milwaukee’s seven-game win streak with a 129-122 victory at the Garden.

The Knicks had lost their previous nine games against Milwaukee, including a 130-111 decision on Saturday.

Julius Randle scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, RJ Barrett bounced back from a disappointing showing on Saturday to score 21 points, and Immanuel Quickley added 20 off the bench for the Knicks.

Damian Lillard and Antetokounmpo meanwhile each scored 32 points apiece for Milwaukee.

RIYADH — Former world champions Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker re-established their heavyweight title credentials with victories on the same Riyadh bill on Saturday.

British boxer Joshua produced one of his best performances of recent times by stopping Sweden’s Otto Wallin, who was pulled out by his corner after the fifth round of a one-sided bout

Earlier, Parker enjoyed a unanimous points-decision win over fellow former world champion Deontay Wilder, the New Zealander triumphing 118-111, 118-110, 120-108 in a dominant display that appeared to scupper pre-fight talk the American would next face Joshua.

There had also been speculation that whoever triumphed in a Wilder-Joshua bout would then face the winner of February’s clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, who between them currently hold all the major versions of the world heavyweight title.

But Joshua said he had paid no attention to Wilder’s fight, telling DAZN: “I wasn’t watching. I just focused on myself...Deontay, everything that he said about me, I could rip him apart right now, but I’m going to take the higher ground.”

Victory gave Joshua his third win of 2023 after he beat Jermaine Franklin Jr by unanimous decision in April before a seventh-round stoppage of Robert Helenius in August.

It also took the 34-year-old’s professional record to 27 wins and three defeats as he inflicted the first inside the distance loss of Wallin’s career.

Joshua is looking to become a three-time world champion following two defeats by Usyk and a shock 2019 loss to Andy Ruiz.

‘God’s plan’ 

“Not so much a throwback fight, just another day in the office,” said Joshua. “You want to do whatever it takes to be victorious. That’s all I want to be.”

Wallin’s only previous professional loss had come against Fury. But he had no answer from the opening bell against Joshua, who with just over a minute of the fifth round remaining produced a superb left hook that had Wallin stumbling towards the ropes.

Earlier Parker, comprehensively defeated Wilder in the former World Boxing Council champion’s first bout in over two years.

“Everyone had other plans but this is God’s plan,” said Parker, 31, who improved to 34-3 with 23 knockouts after sparring with Fury.

Renowned as a knockout artist, Wilder was involved in a trio of dramatic bouts with current WBC champion Fury, drawing the first before losing the next two.

Wilder’s long period of inactivity appeared to count against the 38-year-old, with Parker — who lost the World Boxing Organisation title to Joshua by a unanimous points decision in Cardiff five years ago — landing the cleaner punches as well as producing several thumping roundhouse rights.

“Well done Joseph, he did a great job avoiding my punches,” said Wilder, who fell to 43-3 with one draw and 42 knockouts. “ We move on to the next thing...We make no excuses. We’ll be back for sure. We have a little bit more left.”

But he added: “I’ve done a great job with managing my money and investing. I’m a happy fighter. I’ll be back soon and if not, it’s been a pleasure”.

LOS ANGELES — Joel Embiid shook off an ankle injury to score 31 points and grab 10 rebounds on Friday, propelling the Philadelphia 76ers to a 121-111 NBA victory over Toronto with his 13th straight game with at least 30 points and 10 boards.

Embiid, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, had plenty of support with Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris scoring 33 points apiece for the 76ers.

Embiid had an unfortunate first quarter, scoring just two points in the period after twisting his ankle in an awkward landing under the basket.

After a brief trip to the locker room, he finished the first half with 11 points, three rebounds, six assists and five turnovers.

Harris kept the Sixers afloat, scoring 24 first-half points to help them take a 61-58 lead at the break after the Raptors had led by as many as 15.

Embiid came alive in the third period, scoring 17 straight 76ers points in a run that saw him sprint for a transition basket off a feed from Maxey and drill a three-pointer that put the Sixers up 90-77.

Despite the occasional grimace of discomfort, Embiid extended the NBA’s longest stretch of 30-point, 10-rebound games since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 16 straight in 1971-72.

The Raptors, led by Pascal Siakam’s 31 points, got the deficit down to three late in the third before the Sixers pulled away again.

Maxey added 10 assists and Harris added eight rebounds and seven assists to his season-high in points as the Sixers won for the eighth time in their last nine games.

“Tobias is a really good player, does a lot of good things,” Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said. “Sometimes shots find you, sometimes they don’t and tonight the ball found him a little more and he took advantage of it.”

Nurse said he wasn’t surprised the Sixers came out a little flat after beating Western Conference leaders Minnesota on Wednesday behind a 51-point performance from Embiid.

“It wasn’t just [Embiid],” Nurse said. “It was everybody.

“Then Joel got going ... he started punching through, started making some jumpers ... he just finally got in his rhythm and got the shooting going.”

Nurse said the team would keep an eye on Embiid’s ankle with a Christmas Day game at Miami coming up to start a four-game road trip.

“I’m sure it’ll be sore tomorrow,” Nurse said.

In Brooklyn, Jamal Murray scored 32 points and Nikola Jokic added 31 points with 11 rebounds as the reigning champion Denver Nuggets held off the Nets 122-117.

Aaron Gordon added 18 points and Michael Porter Jr. scored 15 for the Nuggets, who won their third straight.

Heat down Hawks

In a fourth quarter that featured six lead changes, Cam Thomas converted a four-point play with 19.4 seconds remaining to pull the Nets within one point at 115-114.

But Murray made three free-throws to extend the Nuggets’ lead and Denver held on.

Thomas led the Nets with 23 points. Cameron Johnson added 17 as seven Brooklyn players scored in double figures.

In Miami, Tyler Herro scored 30 points and Duncan Robinson added 21 of his 27 off the bench in the fourth quarter to fuel the Heat in a 122-113 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

The Heat, who trailed by 11 early in the third quarter, withstood a 30-point, 13-assist double-double from Atlanta’s Trae Young, his sixth straight game with at least 30 points and 10 assists.

WASHINGTON — Joel Embiid scored a season-high 51 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on Wednesday to accomplish feats unseen for more than a half-century as the Philadelphia 76ers beat NBA-best Minnesota 127-113.

The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player sparked the Sixers (19-8) to their seventh victory in eight games and snapped the four-game win streak of the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves, who slipped to 20-6.

Embiid became the first NBA player with 12 consecutive games of 30 or more points and 10 or more rebounds since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1972.

He also became the first 76er since Wilt Chamberlain in 1967 with three consecutive games of 40 or more points and 10 or more rebounds.

“He does it every night so consistently,” 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey said of Embiid. “We expect it of him and he goes out there and performs every single night.”

Embiid, the NBA’s top scorer at 34.4 points per game, said the triumph avenged a loss at Minnesota last month when he was unable to play due to a hip injury.

“That’s one of the best teams in the league and the best in the West,” Embiid said. “We felt like we had to get them back and I’m glad everybody just showed up.

“To start the third quarter, we had some rough patches, but we stuck together and we kept pushing and we got the win.”

The 29-year-old Cameroonian 2.13m lifted the Sixers to their biggest lead in the final minutes.

Embiid scored 20 points in the first half, 19 more in the third quarter and completed the seventh 50-point performance of his career — and second of the season — on a jumper with 1:46 remaining.

Embiid made 17-of-25 shots from the floor and 17-of-18 free throws while adding three assists, two steals and a blocked shot in humbling the NBA’s top defensive team and its big men, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Maxey added 35 points for the 76ers, forming a deadly duo with Embiid and taking up the scoring slack when the MVP was resting.

“All-Star starter,” Embiid said of Maxey. “He has been doing that all season. Just give him the ball and he has been carrying us every single fourth quarter. You see what happens when he’s impressive.”

“He believes in me,” Maxey said. “I go out there and try to put in the work and help him as much as I possibly can.”

Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 27 points while Towns had 23 points and 13 rebounds.

Celtics topple Kings 

The Boston Celtics took over the NBA’s best record, improving to 21-6 with a 144-119 victory at Sacramento to snap the Kings’ four-game win streak.

The Celtics, without top scorer and rebounder Jayson Tatum due to a left ankle sprain, were led by 28 points each by Jaylen Brown and Derrick White while De’Aaron Fox led Sacramento with 29.

The Los Angeles Clippers stretched their win streak to nine games with a 120-111 victory at Dallas as Kawhi Leonard had 30 points and 10 rebounds and James Harden added 17 points and 11 assists.

Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic scored 31 points and added 15 rebounds and six assists as reigning champion Denver won 113-104 at Toronto.

DeMar DeRozan had 27 points, nine assists and seven rebounds to spark Chicago over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 124-108.

LeBron James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds from Anthony Davis.

Julius Randle scored 26 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 23 to lead the New York Knicks over Brooklyn 121-102 while reserve Sam Merrill’s 27 points led host Cleveland over Utah 124-116.

Trae Young’s 30 points and 14 assists led Atlanta’s 134-127 victory at Houston while Tyler Herro had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to spark Miami’s 115-106 victory at Orlando.

Buddy Hield scored 25 points and Tyrese Haliburton added 19 points and 13 assists in Indiana’s 144-113 home win over Charlotte.

LOS ANGELES — Ja Morant made a scintillating return from a 25-game suspension on Wednesday, driving for a game-winning layup as time expired to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 115-113 NBA victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The basket capped a 34-point, eight-assist, six-rebound performance from Morant, who was suspended by the league for the first 25 games of the season after a pair of social media posts in which he displayed guns.

He looked a little rusty to start, and a little weary at the finish, but ultimately Morant delivered everything the Grizzlies could have hoped for and more.

“I ain’t played a game in eight months,” he told broadcaster TNT. “Had a lot of time... a lot of hard days where I went through it.

“But you know, basketball is my life, what I love, therapeutic for me and I’m just excited to be back.”

The Pelicans, led by 34 points from Brandon Ingram, were up 60-41 at halftime, but the Grizzlies hit back in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 10 entering the final period.

With 1:20 left to play, Morant connected with a floater that put them up 111-109 — Memphis’ first lead since the first quarter.

It was tied at 113-113 when Morant grabbed the rebound of a CJ McCollum miss and after a timeout took the ball up the court and sliced into the lane for the game-winner.

“I felt like it was the perfect ending, perfect day, being able to come back and play and also deliver a game winner for us,” he said.

Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said before the game that Morant was “fired up”, adding that his message to the 24-year-old was “go out there, have fun, build chemistry with your teammates and just enjoy this opportunity to be back on the floor”.

Morant heard plenty of boos in the early going in New Orleans.

But he had support around the league, including a social media post from Lakers superstar LeBron James.

“12 welcome back!!” James wrote shortly before tip-off. “Go be GREAT again!!”

After the game, James posted: “12!!!!That’s All”.

Elsewhere, the Golden State Warriors edged the Boston Celtics 132-126 in an overtime thriller in San Francisco and Damian Lillard scored a season-high 40 points — hitting an NBA milestone — in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 132-119 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Warriors star Stephen Curry scored 13 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and seven in overtime to power the Warriors’ comeback from a 17-point deficit.

Play-off contenders 

He and Klay Thompson drilled six three-pointers apiece as the Warriors ended Boston’s five-game winning streak.

A Curry three-pointer with 1:36 left in regulation knotted the score at 121-121. Both teams missed chances as they went to the extra session, in which the Warriors grabbed the lead on Jonathan Kuminga’s steal and dunk and never trailed.

Curry said the gritty win was just what the Warriors needed.

“We want to be a playoff contender and these are the type of games that show us that we can be that,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep putting them together.”

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 28 points, Derrick White added 30 and Jayson Tatum chipped in 15 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, playing on after rolling his ankle in the first quarter.

In Milwaukee, Lillard’s big night saw him become the 51st NBA player to reach 20,000 career points.

“The 20,000 points, when I hear that it takes me back to the beginning,” Lillard said. “It’s a blessing and an honour to have that type of accomplishment.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo also starred, notching a triple-double of 11 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high 16 assists in the win against a Spurs team missing rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, who sat out with a sore ankle.

PARIS — Holders Manchester City were handed a tie against FC Copenhagen in  draw for the Champions League last 16, from which the meeting of last season’s runners-up Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid appears the standout tie.

Pep Guardiola’s City, who are looking to retain the title they won in Istanbul last June, will be expected to comfortably get the better of the Danish side, who qualified from their group at the expense of Manchester United after beating the Red Devils 4-3 at home.

The clubs met in the group stage of last season’s Champions League, with City winning 5-0 at home before being held to a 0-0 draw away at the Parken Stadium.

The first leg will be among the first to be played, taking place in Denmark on February 13, with the return in England on March 6.

Inter, the Serie A leaders, were one of the teams to avoid after finishing second in their group and their meeting with Atletico will see Diego Simeone, the coach of the Spanish club, come up against a team with whom he spent two years as a player in the late 1990s.

French champions Paris Saint-Germain, who have gone out in the last 16 in each of the last two seasons and in five of the last seven campaigns, were also braced for a tough draw having come second in their group behind Borussia Dortmund.

They will therefore be relieved at being handed a tie against Real Sociedad, who topped their section above Inter but are appearing in the Champions League last 16 for the first time since 2003/04, when they were knocked out by Lyon.

Barcelona’s meeting with Italian champions Napoli is another standout tie, while Premier League leaders Arsenal will be expected to get the better of Porto and reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.

“We want to try and go as far as possible, but we are very much concentrating on playing well, performing well and playing the best football we can, and then we’ll see how far we go,” Arsenal’s sporting director, Edu, told the club’s website.

Sergio Conceicao’s Porto finished level on points with Barcelona in their group, but were ranked in second place after losing both meetings with the Catalans.

Real Madrid will be heavily fancied against RB Leipzig, and Bayern Munich will be strong favourites against Lazio, a team they beat 6-2 on aggregate at the same stage of the competition in 2020/21.

“We’ve had positive experiences with Lazio before,” said Bayern captain Manuel Neuer.

“We’ll go into the games as favourite but we won’t allow ourselves to underestimate them.”

The other tie sees Dortmund come up against PSV Eindhoven, who are coached by former Borussia manager Peter Bosz and are through to the last 16 for the first time in eight years.

All first legs will take place in mid-February with all return matches in March.

This season’s Champions League final will be staged at Wembley in London on June 1.

AMMAN — After having lost their chance in advancing at Asian competitions, both Wihdat and Faisali hope to catch up with leaders Hussein as the Professional Football League heads into the final matches of the first leg of competition.

Week 11 matches kick off Tuesday with Hussein playing last placed Sahab — a good chance to capitalise on their lead after they were held 1-1 with Faisali last week.

Last week, Wihdat scored a 4-0 win over Sahab to move to within three points of the leaders before they face Aqaba who held Ma’an 1-1 while Faisali remained third and next play Shabab Urdun.

Ramtha were held 1-1 with Ahli and stayed fourth ahead of their match with Jalil, while Shabab Urdun are fifth after they beat Mugheer Sarhan 2-1.

Salt’s 1-0 win over Jalil was vital in improving their standing from last to 8th.

LONDON — Arsenal beat Brighton 2-0 on Sunday to dislodge Liverpool from the top of the Premier League as Jurgen Klopp’s men prepared for a blockbuster clash against struggling Manchester United.

Aston Villa, fresh from potentially season-defining wins against Manchester City and Arsenal, came from behind to beat 10-man Brentford 2-1, while West Ham crushed Wolves 3-0.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, runners-up to City last season, dominated at the Emirates, wasting a succession of openings but they finally broke through in the 53rd minute.

Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke jumped to head a corner away but could only flick it into the path of Gabriel Jesus, who headed the ball into an empty net.

Kai Havertz doubled the lead for the Gunners in the closing minutes, slotting past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen after being found by Eddie Nketiah.

Across London, Unai Emery’s Villa fell behind to a Keane Lewis-Potter goal on the stroke of half-time at Brentford.

However, Brentford’s Ben Mee was sent off in the 71st minute and six minutes later Villa were level when Alex Moreno got on the end of a Leon Bailey cross.

Ollie Watkins completed the turnaround against his former club when he headed in a Boubacar Kamara flick-on from a corner with five minutes to go.

Villa now have 38 points from 17 games, one behind Arsenal and one ahead of Liverpool, who kick off later in the day.

Paqueta shines 

Mohammed Kudus scored twice and Lucas Paqueta provided all three assists at the London Stadium as West Ham put last week’s 5-0 drubbing by Fulham behind them.

The Ghana forward netted midway through the first period following a swift counter-attack, finishing powerfully after he was found by the impressive Paqueta.

West Ham doubled their advantage in the 32nd minute, when Paqueta and Kudus again combined to deadly effect and top-scorer Jarrod Bowen hit the post with goalkeeper Dan Bentley a bystander.

Wolves thought they had pulled a goal back just before the hour mark but Pablo Sarabia’s tap-in was ruled out for a marginal offside.

West Ham put the result beyond doubt when Bowen finished unerringly after receiving the ball from Paqueta.

On Saturday, Manchester City let slip a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace, before jetting off to Saudi Arabia to play in the Club World Cup.

It means Liverpool can go six points clear of the defending champions if they beat struggling United at Anfield in the late afternoon kick-off.

Erik ten Hag’s men who last season suffered a 7-0 drubbing at Anfield, have lost 12 of their 24 games in all competitions this season.

With the exception of last season’s 2-1 win at Old Trafford, United’s recent record against Liverpool is dire — they have lost four of the past five meetings, conceding 21 goals in the process.

United captain Bruno Fernandes is suspended while out-of-form Marcus Rashford was once again left on the bench.

Saturday’s Premier League action was overshadowed by a shocking incident at Bournemouth, where Luton captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest, forcing the game to be abandoned.

Luton confirmed Lockyer was responsive before being taken to hospital and was in a “stable” condition. In an update on Sunday the club said he was undergoing tests and scans.

MADRID — Barcelona’s trip down the coast to face Valencia in La Liga on Saturday has taken on a new dimension following their midweek Champions League defeat by Royal Antwerp.

The Catalans still topped Group H but it was a chastening end to their group-stage campaign.

Coming on the back of a 4-2 hammering at league leaders Girona last week, there is the unmistakeable sound of knives being sharpened for coach Xavi Hernandez.

“Xavi’s team does not have a game pattern,” howled the Catalan newspaper Sport, normally a diehard cheerleader for Barcelona.

“It is disoriented, the players constantly make childish mistakes and, on top of that, they are vulnerable in defence. In other words, nothing works. Nothing at all.”

Xavi’s problems have been compounded by reports that club president Joan Laporta has been interfering in team selection.

“Tensions are being generated that make no sense,” said Xavi after an insipid performance against Antwerp.

“I’m worried, it’s normal. The team is not comfortable. We’re on a bad run, we’ve had two negative results.

“The feelings are not good. We have to be self-critical. We have to improve to win things.”

Another defeat on Saturday against 11th-placed Valencia and, for sure, the pressure will rise even more for Xavi and his players.

Barca go into the match in fourth place, seven points behind Girona who close the 17th round of La Liga on Monday against 12th-placed Alaves.

Girona have one draw and nine wins in their last 10 matches.

“These players are really making history and this is what makes me happiest,” said Girona coach Michel Sanchez after his side had whipped their fellow Catalans.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, can take over the lead, even if only for 24 hours, if they can beat 13th-placed Villarreal on Sunday.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by seventh-placed Real Betis last weekend, dropping to second place, two points behind Girona.

Real Madrid go into the game on the back of a 3-2 win over Union Berlin on Tuesday to wrap up a clean sweep of Champions League group stage victories.

“We’ve done very well in this first part of the season so far,” said a satisfied Ancelotti after the win.

Player to watch: Antoine Griezmann

Atletico Madrid travel to Bilbao to take on fifth-placed Athletic on Saturday with Antoine Griezmann looking to add to his goal tally as he chases down Luis Aragones as the club’s all-time record goalscorer.

With his goal in Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Lazio in the Champions League, the Frenchman is now just two goals shy of the 173 that “El Sabio de Hortaleza” notched up for the club.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Pep Guardiola is hoping to complete his trophy haul as Manchester City manager at the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia as the Gulf Kingdom shows off its wares in hosting a major international football tournament for the first time.

City travel to Jeddah, the host for all seven matches in the tournament, looking to add a first Club World Cup to the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup they won last season.

“We miss just one trophy to finish the circle and win all the titles City can have,” said Guardiola, who has already won the competition three times during his spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

“We will go there and prepare because for us it is a dream.”

Despite a recent four-game winless streak in the Premier League, City are strong favourites to lift more silverware.

Not since Corinthians beat Chelsea in 2012 have the Champions League winners failed to lift the Club World Cup.

No matter who emerges victorious from the final on December 23, there will be a new name on the trophy.

Fluminense are South America’s representatives after winning the Copa Libertadores for the first time last month.

However, the major threat to City could come from the rise of Saudi as a sporting hotbed.

Al Ittihad have only qualified due to their status as champions of the host nation but boast a wealth of previous Club World Cup winners in Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Fabinho.

Benzema became the first player to ever score in four Club World Cups as Al Ittihad swept aside Auckland City 3-0 in the first round on Wednesday.

Next up they face against African champions Al Ahly of Egypt in the quarter-finals.

The winner of the other quarter-final between Mexico’s Club Leon and Urawa Red Diamonds will meet City when they enter the competition at the last four.

Benzema, Kante and Fabinho were just some of the star names who have recently swapped top European clubs for the riches on offer in the Saudi Pro League.

That was just the beginning of an offensive to turn the country into a football powerhouse.

Saudi is set to host the 2034 World Cup and looks almost certain to also be awarded future versions of a revamped Club World Cup.

This will be the final edition of the current format before it expands to a 32-team tournament every four years from 2025.

The United States will host the first expanded Club World Cup as it prepares for to welcome the World Cup the following year.

However, Saudi Arabia is then expected to step in to add to its growing portfolio of major sporting events that includes a Formula One Grand Prix, major boxing bouts, tennis and golf events.

A string of other sporting interests include Premier League club Newcastle United and LIV Golf.