Manchester City, the defending champions, have been knocked out of the Club World Cup in the last-16 after a surprising 4-3 extra-time defeat to Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia.
Pep Guardiola’s side made it through the group stage without any problems but struggled in defence during this match, conceding four goals and missing out on a place in the quarter-finals.
City started strongly, as they often do in this competition, and scored within the first 10 minutes for the fourth game in a row. Captain Bernardo Silva tapped in from close range after a poor clearance from the Al-Hilal defence. However, the goal was controversial as Rayan Ait-Nouri appeared to handle the ball in the build-up, leaving Al-Hilal players angry.
City had more chances in the first half, but goalkeeper Bono made key saves from Savinho, Ilkay Gundogan, and tipped Josko Gvardiol’s header over the bar.
Al-Hilal didn’t have many chances in the first 45 minutes, but just 44 seconds into the second half, Marcos Leonardo headed in the equaliser. Then, in the 52nd minute, former Barcelona player Malcom ran clear and calmly finished to give Al-Hilal a shock 2-1 lead.
City responded quickly as Erling Haaland scored from a corner just three minutes later to make it 2-2.
With the game heading towards extra time, Manuel Akanji hit the post with a header and Haaland’s rebound was cleared off the line brilliantly by Ali Lajami.
In extra time, Al-Hilal went ahead again when Kalidou Koulibaly, formerly of Chelsea, headed in during the 94th minute. But Phil Foden came off the bench to score a clever volley from a tight angle and level the score once more.
However, it was Marcos Leonardo who became the hero for Al-Hilal, scoring at the back post with just eight minutes left in extra time to seal a historic win for the 2021 AFC Champions League winners.
