Al-Hilal Stun Manchester City To Reach Quarter-final Of FIFA Club World Cup

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By Sportsgister

Defending champions Manchester City were knocked out of the Club World Cup at the last 16 stage after being stunned in extra time by Saudi Arabia side Al-Hilal following an incredible seven-goal thriller.

Pep Guardiola’s side had come through the group stages unscathed but failed to reach the quarter-finals after conceding four times in a haphazard defensive display.

City have been fast starters in this competition and for the fourth game running, they opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes.

Captain Bernardo Silva swept home from close range after the opposition defenders failed to clear, but the Al-Hilal players were left fuming as Rayan Ait-Nouri appeared to handle the ball in the build-up.

Goalkeeper Bono made big saves to deny Savinho and Ilkay Gundogan from close range, before showing sharp reflexes to tip Josko Gvardiol’s header over the crossbar.

At the other end, Al-Hilal found little joy in the opening 45 minutes, but just 44 seconds into the second half, Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo was in the right place to head in the equaliser.

City were reeling when former Barcelona man Malcom ran clear to coolly convert and give Al-Hilal a shock lead on 52 minutes, before Erling Haaland restored parity just three minutes later by poking in from a corner.

With time running out in a thoroughly entertaining contest, Manuel Akanji flicked a header against the post and Haaland saw his follow-up effort sensationally cleared off the line by Ali Lajami.

The match went into extra-time and Al-Hilal thought they had won it when former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly powered in a header in the 94th minute, but substitute Phil Foden squeezed home a volley from an acute angle to keep City alive.

But Leonardo was the hero as he converted at the back post eight minutes from time to deliver a monumental result for the 2021 AFC Champions League winners.

What was the main talking point?

The revamped Club World Cup has been criticised in some parts, but this contest served up an epic encounter which will go down as one of the most memorable games of the tournament and finished at 04:45 BST.

It saw a colossal result that will reverberate around football, seeing an ambitious Arab side that have been aiming to challenge the elite dump out a Premier League giant on the global stage.

City went ahead and failed to take their chances in the first-half and then trailed for the first time in the competition after a crazy six minute spell at the start of the second half and then going behind again late in extra-time, from which they could not recover.

Which players stood out?

The heroics of former Girona and Sevilla goalkeeper Bono helped Morocco to an unforgettable run to the semi-finals of the Club World Cup and he was even more valiant against City.

The 34-year-old made a string of saves – totalling 10 – to ensure Al-Hilal clung on in the contest, while former City full-back Joao Cancelo was involved in both of their opening goals.

But it will be a game that 22-year-old front man Leonardo will always remember after scoring twice, while it is one that the City players will want to quickly forget.

What next?

City head home after a disappointing result, while Al-Hilal will stay in Orlando for Friday’s quarter-final, coming up against Brazilian side Fluminese.

The winner of that tie will play the victor of Chelsea v Palmeiras in the semi-finals in New York/New Jersey.