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Al Hilal stun City in seven-goal thriller
Manchester City 3-4 Al Hilal
Manchester City goals: Bernardo Silva (9), Erling Haaland (55), Phil Foden (104)
Al Hilal goals: Marcos Leonardo (46 & 112), Malcom (52), Kalidou Koulibaly (94)
Marcos Leonardo settled an instant classic to give Al Hilal victory over Manchester City in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup™. Simone Inzaghi’s side will return to Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Friday to fight Fluminense FC for a semi-final spot.
Bernardo Silva stabbed home a loose ball to give City an early advantage, and only an excellent save from the grounded Yassine Bounou denied Savinho making it two.
If the first half was entertaining, the first 12 minutes of the second were insane. Quick-fire goals from Marcos Leonardo and Malcom catapulted Al Hilal into the lead, before Erling Haaland equalised from a corner. The referee immediately pointed to the spot after Malcom beat Ruben Dias and was tripped, only for the decision to be reversed due to offside.
City incessantly assaulted the Al Hilal goal for the remainder of the period, but Bounou produced several big saves and, when Haaland thought he’d snatched a late winner, Ali Lajami heroically hooked it off the line.
Al Hilal went ahead again at the start of extra time, Kalidou Koulibaly heading home a Ruben Neves corner, but substitute Phil Foden restored parity with a cushioned finish. Penalties were looming, but when Ederson repelled Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s header, Marcos Leonardo was on hand to bundle the ball over the line and seal a seismic shock.
Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match
Marcos Leonardo (Al Hilal)
Quotes
“We knew that it would be a difficult game against one of the best teams in the world and we wanted to show our ideas, our talents and our power. We made a very good game; we took our chances so we can be happy. We wanted to show that Al Hilal have the power and the talent to be here and we showed a great mentality.”
Kalidou Koulibaly, Al Hilal defender
"I've had a difficult time in the last two months. My mother spent 70 days in the ICU. Today she's fine, thank God. When I scored those two goals, I thought of her. She was able to watch the match. We have to think about our families - people who want the best for us. If they weren't watching, I wouldn't be here today."
Marcos Leonardo, Al Hilal forward
Stats
- Manchester City scored in the first 10 minutes in all four of their outings in this competition. Phil Foden in the second minute, Ilkay Gundogan in the eighth, Jeremy Doku in the ninth and Bernardo Silva in the ninth got the goals.
- Erling Haaland has registered four goal contributions at this FIFA Club World Cup. Only Michael Olise of FC Bayern München has more (five).
- Al Hilal ended a 20-game winless run for Asian teams against European opposition in a FIFA club competition.
