Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal pulled off the biggest shock of the FIFA Club World Cup so far, defeating English champions Manchester City 4-3 after extra time on Monday in a dramatic quarter-final clash.
The match, which finished 2-2 in regulation, saw Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo score a decisive winner in the 112th minute, capping off one of the greatest victories in Middle Eastern club football history.
The upset sends Al Hilal into the semi-finals, where they will face Brazilian side Fluminense, guaranteeing a non-European team will reach the final four.
Manchester City took an early lead in the 9th minute under controversial circumstances. Bernardo Silva tapped in from close range after Rayan Aït-Nouri’s cross, though Al Hilal players protested that Aït-Nouri had handled the ball in the build-up. The VAR did not intervene, and the goal stood.
Despite dominating possession and creating several chances, City failed to extend their lead before halftime — largely due to wasteful finishing and a standout performance from Al Hilal’s Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. The former Sevilla shot-stopper denied efforts from Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva, and others, keeping his side in the game.
Al Hilal strike back
City were made to pay for their profligacy just one minute into the second half. Former City full-back João Cancelo whipped in a low cross that Ederson parried, and after a blocked shot from Malcom, Marcos Leonardo rose to nod home the equaliser.
Six minutes later, Cancelo’s long ball exposed City’s high defensive line, allowing Malcom to burst through and slot calmly past Ederson to give Al Hilal a 2-1 lead.
Pep Guardiola responded with a triple substitution, bringing on Rodri, Nathan Aké, and Manuel Akanji to shore up the defence. The move paid off with a scrappy equaliser — Erling Haaland pounced on a loose ball from a corner to make it 2-2.
City then laid siege to the Al Hilal goal, but Bounou continued to frustrate them, making crucial saves from Akanji and Rúben Dias. Even when he was finally beaten by Haaland, substitute Ali Lajami cleared off the line with a stunning block.
Guardiola swapped Haaland for Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush as the match moved into extra time, but it was Al Hilal who struck first.
Four minutes into the first extra-time period, Kalidou Koulibaly rose high to meet a corner from Rúben Neves, powering a header past Ederson to make it 3-2.
City equalised once more with a moment of brilliance — Rayan Cherki floated a pinpoint ball to the back post, where Phil Foden, at full stretch and a tight angle, managed to poke it home for 3-3.
But Al Hilal weren’t done. In the 112th minute, Milinković-Savić’s header was parried by Ederson, only for Marcos Leonardo to bundle in the rebound — his second goal of the night — to seal a famous victory.
As Al Hilal fans celebrated wildly, Leonardo was visibly emotional after the final whistle.
“I’ve had a difficult time in the last two months. My mother spent 70 days in the ICU,” he revealed. “Today she’s fine, thank God. When I scored those two goals, I thought of her. She was able to watch the match.”
City captain Bernardo Silva admitted his team had been caught out repeatedly on the break.
“We scored three and could’ve scored five or six,” he said. “It was all about controlling transitions. But they ran way too many times, and with one or two passes they always looked dangerous. When we let teams run like that, we suffer — and today we paid for it.”
AFP
