Manchester City 3-4 Al Hilal: Exhilarating knockout tie sees Saudi side qualify for quarter-finals | OneFootball

Al Hilal pulled off a shock 4-3 victory over Manchester City to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup after a thrilling encounter at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

City dominated the early on and led at halftime thanks to a goal from Bernardo Silva, but two quick strikes at the start of the second half from Marcos Leonardo and Malcom gave Al Hilal a surprise lead.

That didn’t last long, with Erling Haaland levelling the score less than four minutes later, but come extra-time, Kalidou Koulibaly gave the Saudi Arabian outfit the lead once more. Phil Foden equalised shortly after being introduced as a substitute.

Leonardo secured a brace for himself with eight minutes of football left to play and finally put an exhilarating knockout tie to bed, sending Al Hilal to the last eight and knocking out the favourites in the process.

They will face Fluminense in the quarter-finals.

As it happened

Things went rather predictably from the offset: Manchester City dominated possession, while Al Hilal sat back and absorbed, waiting for the rare chance to spring a counter.

Pep Guardiola’s side wasted little time. In fact, their second opening would result in their opening goal, but not without a slice of luck. Two new boys combined when Rayan Aït-Nouri was played into the area courtesy of a divine through-ball from Tijjani Reijnders, before he crossed low towards the six-yard box. The ball bounced first off Renan Lodi before ricocheting again of Ilkay Gündoğan. It was this touch which deceived Bono, and the ball fell kindly to Silva to tap home his first goal as City captain into an empty net.

Between then and the halftime whistle, Al Hilal’s goalkeeper was the only thing standing between City and a second goal. Savinho tried to take it round him, but he stood his ground and made the save; Gündoğan was the next to be denied after attempting a delicate dink which was slapped out for a corner and, from that set piece, Joško Gvardiol’s header was tipped over the bar. It had been a beautiful day for Bono, but he still hadn’t found what he was looking for in terms of the result.

Then everything changed.

Only 41 seconds into the second half, his side were level after a sleek move. Malcom had driven forward from the back and released João Cancelo down the right of the box. Against his former side, he sent a low cross which bamboozled Ederson and the entire City defence, none of whom could clear the ball. It then bounced up perfectly for Leonardo, who nodded home into an all but empty net. City were stunned; Al Hilal were level.

And that wasn’t the end of it; pretty soon, they were in front. City had won a corner but failed to create anything from it. Cue the same combination from the Saudi giants; Cancelo weaved a glorious ball into the vacant City half and Malcom raced through on goal, no one either side of him and only Ederson to beat – and he made no mistake. The former Barcelona man slotted the ball into the bottom corner, and out of nowhere, six minutes into the second half, they were in front.

The last time Simone Inzaghi faced Guardiola, he was on the losing side of a Champions League final. Now, he was winning against him in the Club World Cup.

Alas, that wouldn’t be the case for long. City soon won another corner, and this time they made use of it. Silva whipped it in, Al Hilal couldn’t clear, and the ball dropped for the perfect man: Haaland, goal-scorer extraordinaire, in close quarters to tap home. Not 10 minutes of the second half had been played yet it had seen three goals.

The closest either side came to scoring again in regulation-time came in the 84th minute, when Manuel Akanji’s header from a corner looped awkwardly towards the top corner, forcing Bono into a parry which fell perfectly for Haaland. He tapped goalwards, only for the recently introduced Ali Lajami to scramble the ball off the line and retain parity.

Come extra-time, there would be a goal less than four minutes in. City had made the most of their corners thus far, but Al Hilal showed they knew their stuff from set pieces too, as Rúben Neves’ delivery found the head of Koulibaly. His header was deft, looped, and ultimately nestled in the back of the net without an inch of movement from Ederson. After an imperious display at the back from the Senegalese international, there might not have been a more deserving goal-scorer.

City needed something new, and substitutes combining did the trick; before the end of the first half of extra-time, they’d levelled once more through Foden, who latched onto a remarkable Rayan Cherki ball into the box with a cushioned volley into the side netting. With 15 minutes of football left to play, it was as unclear as ever who would be playing in the last eight.

Was the drama done there? No. No it was not. With eight minutes of extra-time left, Al Hilal led yet again. A terrific cross from Lodi found Sergej Milinković-Savić, whose header was brilliantly saved by Ederson, but he could only parry back into the six-yard box. Leonardo was waiting, still nursing cramp from five minutes prior, to slide the ball into the net.

And that, finally, was all she wrote.

For Guardiola and Manchester City, it’s a bitterly disappointing end to a tournament with for which they had such high hopes after drubbing Juventus.

But it’s a huge achievement for the Saudi side, and for Inzaghi, who has overcome Guardiola two years later. Al Hilal will play Fluminense in the quarter-finals, guaranteeing a non-European side in the final four of the Club World Cup.

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