Al Hilal completed a stunning giant-killing run, shocking the English footballing superpower Manchester City 4-3. This exciting winner came in extra time of the Club World Cup round of 16 match. The final matchup held the attention of an enthusiastic audience. It will long be remembered as one of the biggest upsets in Middle Eastern football history. With this victory, Al Hilal moves on to play Brazilian club Fluminense in the quarterfinals.
This intriguing match-up opened with both teams attacking at high tempo, trading chances. Al Hilal’s Brazilian striker, Malcolm, opened the scoring and it was a scorcher to get that party started. His initial advantage made for an exciting match right from the start. Manchester City quickly replied equalizing the match before the half time whistle blew. Al Hilal’s resolve blazed through in technicolor. Kalidou Koulibaly scored with a header from a corner taken by Ruben Neves, putting Al Hilal back in front.
As the game progressed, tensions escalated. Al Hilal’s players protested a goal scored by Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, claiming it should not have stood. This controversy only fueled the fire on the pitch, both teams showing their determination to leave it all behind with the first win ever.
The game continued to be hotly contested as City leveled the score again. This resulted in a thrilling finish that extended into overtime to determine the victor. Al Hilal continued to hammer away for most of the match. They all but guaranteed their win when Marcos Leonardo netted the goal that would prove to be the winner, advancing them to the quarterfinals.
Al Hilal’s goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, played a crucial role in the team’s success. He had a few major saves in the first half of the match. Most tellingly of all, he brilliantly tipped over a header from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. Besides Bounou’s individual performance, his play spoke to Morocco’s ability, as a team, to play through one of the tournament’s toughest challenges.
As soon as the final whistle sounded, Al Hilal fans let loose in jubilation. They streamed out of the stadium, elated beyond words at their team’s historic victory. The atmosphere was electric, filled with pride as jubilant supporters appreciated the historical nature of this achievement for Middle Eastern football.
“I’ve had a difficult time in the last two months. My mother spent 70 days in the ICU,” – Al Jazeera and news agencies
Al Hilal’s victory is especially poignant for players like Malcolm, who dedicated his winning performance to his mother.
“Today, she’s fine, thank God. When I scored those two goals, I thought of her. She was able to watch the match.” – Al Jazeera and news agencies
Even at 3-0 up, Bernardo Silva lamented Manchester City’s sloppy defensive actions that gave Al Hilal opportunities to punish.
“We scored three and could’ve scored five, six. It was all about controlling when we lost the ball, controlling the transitions; don’t let them run, and they ran way too many times,” – Bernardo Silva
Even though they would not be pushing on in the tournament, Manchester City showed some of their quality and character right until the final whistle. Yet it was Al Hilal’s tactical ingenuity and warrior spirit that really won them this hard-fought victory.
