In between, Claudio Echeverri curled in a sublime free-kick from the edge of the box on his first start and Josko Gvardiol sent a header against the post as City threatened to run riot in the opening half an hour.
City went 3-0 up before half-time courtesy of Erling Haaland’s penalty after Ramy Rabia bundled over Manuel Akanji in the box – the referee awarding the spot-kick after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor.
Oscar Bobb came off the bench to cut inside and fire in at the near post and fellow substitute Rayan Cherki scored his first goal for the club with a low, thumping drive late on.
Al Ain qualified for the competition after winning the 2024 Asian Champions League under ex-Argentina striker Hernan Crespo and are now led by former Watford boss Vladimir Ivic, but they were well beaten by their superior opponents.
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