Saudi Al Hilal Achieves Historic Milestone in Club World Cup, Inzaghi Repays Guardiola

SadaNews - Saudi Al Hilal has written one of its greatest football chapters after eliminating English team Manchester City from the Round of 16 of the 2025 Club World Cup with an exciting victory of (4-3).

This occurred early Tuesday in a dramatic match that extended into extra time at the "Camping World" stadium in Orlando.

Manchester City took an early lead with a goal from Bernardo Silva in the ninth minute, but Al Hilal turned the tables at the start of the second half with two quick goals by Brazilians Marcos Leonardo (46') and Malcom (52').

The leader's joy did not last long, as Erling Haaland equalized for City just three minutes later.

The regular time ended with a score of (2-2), leading the match into extra time that saw unprecedented excitement, with Kalidou Koulibaly scoring a splendid header in the 94th minute, before Phil Foden equalized for City from a defensive error (104').

In the 112th minute, Leonardo scored his second goal and the fourth for Al Hilal, sealing the historic match.

Al Hilal succeeded despite the absence of several key stars like Salem Al-Dosari, Aleksandar Mitrović, and Hassan Tambakti, as coach Simone Inzaghi relied on a solid defensive plan with five defenders against one of the strongest attacking lines in the tournament.

Inzaghi Takes Revenge on Guardiola

After losing to Pep Guardiola in the 2023 UEFA Champions League final with Inter Milan, the Italian coach returned to win in a World Cup battle wearing the Al Hilal jersey, handing Guardiola his first loss in the history of his participations in the Club World Cup.

Fiery Match in the Quarter-Finals

With this historic victory, Al Hilal sets up a fiery encounter with Brazilian Fluminense, which overcame Italian Inter Milan, in the quarter-finals scheduled for Friday evening.

Source: RT