Al Hilal revives Manchester City's crisis with a global upset

The Club World Cup continues to deliver surprises and ruin any prior predictions. On Monday night (Tuesday morning in Spain), Al Hilal completed the biggest upset so far in the tournament, eliminating the ultra favorite to reach the final, Manchester City (3-4).

Pep Guardiola's team dominated at will in the first half and took the lead in the 9th minute thanks to a goal from Bernardo Silva, preceded by a controversial handball not called by the main referee or by VAR, interpreting the regulations well. Bono's saves (6) prevented a rout before the break, but everything changed in the second half.

City's defense was appalling and Al Hilal punished Guardiola's team

After 45 minutes in which they barely passed into the opponent's half, Simone Inzaghi's team came out convinced to exploit the spaces conceded by the 'sky blue' defense, betting on long balls towards their forwards and the quick counter-attack, accumulating players near the opponent's area.

In just seven minutes of the second half, the Saudis came back with goals from Brazilians Marcos Leonardo and Malcom. The former FC Barcelona player, although he had to leave in the 64th minute due to physical exhaustion, was a nightmare for the City defenders, also generating a penalty not called due to a previous offside.

Guardiola's team reacted quickly, equalizing the score in the 55th minute with a goal from Erling Haaland. The match, from then on, broke down, with the English dominating possession, but Al Hilal doing a lot of damage on the counter. Despite the multiple chances, especially in the Saudi area, the draw was maintained until the end of regulation time.

Pep used the bench putting all his artillery, including a Rodri who was injured again in extra time. Cherki and Foden were the most incisive of the 'sky blue' attack in extra time, combining to score the third English goal. However, Kalidou Koulibaly, the best of the Arab defense, had regained the lead for Inzaghi's team in the 94th minute, a lead that only lasted 10 minutes.

In the final stretch of extra time, Al Hilal continued to hurt the sides of an appalling 'cityzen' defense and, in the 112th minute, Marcos Leonardo made it 3-4, capturing a rebound from Ederson to push the ball into the goal. The Arab team was even close to the fifth, but Aké saved the goal on the line.

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Al Hilal will face Fluminense for a place in the semifinals

In the end, City ran out of ideas and physical strength to force at least the penalties, where Bono's figure would probably have tipped the balance in favor of the Asians. For the first time, a team from that continent defeats a European team in continental tournaments and Guardiola's team returns home in an unthinkable way, since their performance in the first phase (3 out of 3 victories) was impeccable.

After the match, the Santpedor native lamented the defeat, pointing out that, beyond Bono's multiple saves, the team allowed too many transitions in a direct elimination duel. It's a shame. We were in a good position. In these stages, all matches are difficult and we allowed them to create too many transitions