Al Hilal -head coach Simeone Inzaghi has said that his party deserved to beat Manchester City in the exciting luminaires of Tuesday morning.
The Premier League Giants side was beaten 4-3 in extra time after an exciting meeting to leave the Club World Cup in the round of 16 stage.
City was left to accommodate many missed opportunities because they had not added to Bernardo Silva’s ninth minute before Marcos Leonardo and Malcom turned around.
Erling Haaland sent the game to extra time, but City still needed an equalizer from Phil Foden after Kalidou Koulibaly led the Saudi Arabian outfit in front.
City, who was repeatedly caught during the break, was unable to regain the initiative and Leonardo provided a large upset – and a statement victory for Saudi football – with 112 minutes on the clock.
“The key to this result was the players, the heart they put on the field.
“We had to do something extraordinary because we knew how good Manchester City is, we knew we had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen and we were great.
“Guardiola is the best coach in the world, but tonight we did our best and we earned the result.”
Read also: 2025 CWC: Man City will already find Hilal hard to beat – Guardiola
Al Hilal has now become a member of Palmeiras, Chelsea, Fluminense, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals
They will accept the Brazilian heavyweights Fluminense in the last eight to 4 July. Fluminense saw Inter Milan 2-0 in their round of 16 meetings on Monday.
The closest Al Hilal came to win the FIFA Club World Cup was in the 2023 edition when they reached the final, but lost 5-3 to Real Madrid.
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