Egypt Daily News – Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal continued their remarkable run in the FIFA Club World Cup, etching their name in the tournament’s history books by advancing to the quarterfinals of the newly expanded competition, which now features 32 teams for the first time.
Al-Hilal earned a valuable and well-deserved 4-3 victory over English champions Manchester City on Monday evening local time (early Tuesday GMT), in the Round of 16 of the tournament currently taking place in the United States.
Manchester City opened the scoring with a controversial goal from Portuguese star Bernardo Silva in the 9th minute. However, Al-Hilal came out strong in the second half, netting twice through Brazilian duo Marcos Leonardo and Malcom Filipe in the 46th and 52nd minutes, respectively.
Al-Hilal’s lead didn’t last long, as Norwegian striker Erling Haaland equalized for Manchester City in the 55th minute. With the score tied 2-2 at the end of regular time, the match went into extra time—30 minutes divided into two halves.
The drama continued in extra time. Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly scored Al-Hilal’s third goal in the 94th minute, but substitute Phil Foden leveled for City in the 104th.
Then, in the 112th minute, Marcos Leonardo struck again with his second goal of the night and Al-Hilal’s fourth, sealing a historic win and establishing himself as the undisputed hero of the match.
Al-Hilal, the only Arab team remaining in the knockout stage, now moves on to face Brazilian side Fluminense in the quarterfinals. Fluminense also pulled off a major upset, defeating Italy’s Inter Milan 2-0 in their Round of 16 match.
