Al Hilal overcome Pachuca to advance | OneFootball

Al Hilal have sealed their place in the next round of the Club World Cup. The Saudi team secured a 2-0 victory over Pachuca, with goals from local star Salem Al-Dawsari and Marcos Leonardo.

The performance was initially uninspired, but gradually the Saudis found their rhythm. The first real chance came from Brazilian Malcom, who played a one-two with Marcos Leonardo and shot wide.

Then, Salem Al-Dawsari combined with Nasser Al-Dawsari before chipping the ball over the goalkeeper to open the scoring with a beautiful goal.

Pachuca showed little ambition in response and they hardly posed a threat in the first half. They had more possession after the break though and finally tested Bono through former West Brom and Everton man Salomón Rondón.

Playing defensively, Al Hilal cooled down the opposition's pressure and nearly sealed the game on a counterattack. After a combination with Malcom, Marcos Leonardo got past goalkeeper Sebastián Jurado, but Eduardo Bauermannn was there to prevent the goal.

The Mexican pressure intensified in the final minutes with goalkeeper Bauermann going forward as well. But in the last play, Marcos Leonardo received the ball behind the defense, bypassed the goalkeeper, and confirmed the victory with the second goal.

Al Hilal might not be in the tournament for too much longer as they will face the Manchester City in the first knock-out round.