💥 Tops and flops after City drama: Who stepped up, who fell short? | OneFootball

What an incredible football evening at the Club World Cup?! While all of Manchester still believes they had a bad dream, celebrations continue through the night in Riyadh. Al Hilal knocks out the big favorite Manchester City with a wild 4:3 victory after extra time and advances to the quarter-finals. And yes – this was not a FIFA career mode, but reality.

City's star ensemble around Haaland, Foden & Co. looked like the sure winner after an early lead – but then Al Hilal exploded, led by a match-winner who is likely to give Ederson nightmares. Time for our review: Who shone? Who faltered? Here are the top 3 heroes and the flop 3 concerns of the game.

Top 3 Players: The Heroes of the Evening

🥇 Marcos Leonardo (Al Hilal)

When it matters, he's there. First, he coolly capitalizes on Ederson's mistake to equalize 1:1, then in the 112th minute, he does everything right: pressing, ball recovery, finish – goal! And he significantly benefited from a previous save by Ederson. Two goals, 120 minutes of power – this guy is by far the man of the match.

🥈 Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal)

The Moroccan in goal was the nightmare of every City attacker. Haaland tried, Foden too – all failed against "Bono". With over 10 saves, including real masterpieces, he kept his team in the game. A true goalkeeper's wall!

📸 MOHAMED TAGELDIN

🥉 Malcom (Al Hilal)

Yes, he's known from his time at Barça – but rarely has he been seen as strong as now. He created gaps on the right, brought speed, scored himself to make it 2:1, and was constantly dangerous. Someone who knew: "Today, history can be made."

Flop 3 Players: City's Concerns

🥉 Rayan Aït-Nouri

The left-back surprisingly started, even had an assist offensively – but defensively? Catastrophic. The 2:1 came from his side, his positioning seemed insecure. And then the ball bounced off his forearm before the 1:0. Lucky for City that the referee did not interpret it as intentional handball. And it remains – much shadow, little light from City's defender in this game.

🥈 Ruben Dias

Usually a rock in defense, but this time he wobbled like bamboo in a storm. Before the 3:3, he was pulled out of position, and for the 4:3, he was late. Also not dominant in duels – unusually weak.

📸 Megan Briggs - 2025 Getty Images

🥇 Ederson

What was that, Ederson?! At 1:1, he sends a clearance directly into Marcos Leonardo's path. Also, afterwards, repeatedly insecure in the build-up – there was little of the usually composed keeper to be seen. In a knockout game at this level, simply not enough.

Our Conclusion: Pep Perplexed, Al Hilal in Ecstasy

It's hard to believe: Pep Guardiola's "Invincibles" are out in the round of 16 of the Club World Cup – against a team that seemed like a warm-up opponent on paper. But Al Hilal had the courage, the plan, and the mentality to topple the favorite. City played dominantly but too ineffectively – Al Hilal was ice-cold.

Marcos Leonardo will likely be in high demand in Europe now – Ederson, on the other hand, probably needs a vacation first. Either way: This game goes down in the history of the Club World Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA - AFP or licensors