What a last-16 tie, what a triumph for Al-Hilal, what crushing disappointment for Manchester City who, as the contest aged, gradually lost shape and tempo and crumpled in this shock of the Club World Cup.
The killer blow of a breathless extra time featuring three goals was administered by Marcos Leonardo in the 112th minute. Renan Lodi curved a cross in from the left, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic rose and headed, Ederson palmed the ball out and the Brazilian struck his second goal of the contest. Leonardo headed for a corner flag to begin the Al-Hilal party and the camera panned to Phil Foden, who eight minutes before seemed to have saved City.
That had been a magical moment, with the 25-year-old unwilling to allow City to be knocked out by Kalidou Koulibaly’s earlier extra-time strike. Rayan Cherki looked up and spun a lob over Al-Hilal’s defence for Foden. Running on, the No 47 eyed the ball all the way and sculpted a volley across the goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to finish from the tightest of angles and make it 3-3 with a sublime equaliser. It was his 100th City goal, on his 319th appearance.
On a sweltering Orlando night, City had previously conceded four minutes into the added 30 when Koulibaly leapt and beat Ederson from Rúben Neves’s corner. At this juncture City’s disarray was shown by Rúben Dias and Nathan Aké allowing Koulibaly the freedom to steer home. Moments later, Rodri, a 53rd-minute substitute, was taken off by Pep Guardiola, for Foden; the manager later said the Ballon d’Or winner had sustained an injury setback.
At stake for City had been a quarter-final place and £9.6m for the win to take their tournament winnings to £47.4m. But instead they jet home with Guardiola surely rueing not introducing Foden earlier or naming him in the starting lineup.
Nine minutes were gone when City opened the scoring with a controversial goal. Rayan Aït-Nouri motored along the left and crossed; the ball bounced about Al-Hilal’s area, hitting Ilkay Gündogan, and Bernardo Silva scrambled it in off a shin. There was uproar from Simone Inzaghi’s players, whose vociferous claims to the referee, Jesús Valenzuela, were for handball in the buildup.
Replays suggested two – off Aït-Nouri and Gündogan – but the on-field official and the video assistant referee maintained the goal was fine. Protests continued by the centre circle, Al-Hilal pointed to the Camping World Stadium screen, where the move was again shown, as proof, but Valenzuela took to his microphone to declare the goal legal.
The bottom line: City led and Saudi Arabia’s leviathan club seemed to face a sisyphean task, City hogging 71.3% of possession underlining this. But at 1-0 hope remained and City piled up the spurned chances to keep Al-Hilal optimistic. The culprits were Savinho – a flailing Bounou hand saved at his feet – Gündogan when running through, Josko Gvardiol, with his head, and Jérémy Doku, whose radar was also awry.
Inzaghi took over four days after Inter’s 5-0 Champions League final thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain. He left an Italian giant for a Saudi one but before taking on Real Madrid in the group opener had only two weeks to implement his ideas, a central plank of which is the favoured five-man backline he fielded here.
A 1-1 draw against the European aristocrats in his first game was an eye-catching calling card but here Inzaghi was without his captain, Salem al-Dawsari, and No 9, Aleksandar Mitrovic.
When Mohamed Kanno, Dawsari’s stand-in, pinged in a ball from the right it created a golden opening for Leonardo, but the Brazilian’s header sailed high over Ederson’s bar.
Guardiola’s XI showed no Rodri, Foden or Cherki, but in Dias, Gündogan, Erling Haaland, Gvardiol and Silva a core of frontline acts were fielded. All were wise enough to see a half-time shot count of nine to Al-Hilal’s three and know their advantage should not be slender.
This profligacy came home to roost 44 seconds into the second half. City’s shots total masked the old problem of their high line being exposed. So it was that João Cancelo got in behind and drove in a cross; though Ederson beat the ball out and Malcom’s shot was blocked, Leonardo finished.
Al-Hilal were jubilant, City stunned. Inzaghi’s unit were not finished: at a City corner Al-Hilal again broke, Aït-Nouri failed to react, so Malcom sprinted through and struck home, rolling the ball past Ederson and inside the right post.
City’s response was near-instant. Silva dropped in a corner from the left, Haaland rose, the ball pinged off Koulibaly then Aké, and Haaland steered it home.
Guardiola had introduced Aké, Manuel Akanji and Rodri but as 75 minutes passed Foden remained a spectator. Later, when Doku launched a breakaway and was scythed down, City wanted a free-kick but Valenzuela blew for full time. In extra time Foden was at last thrown on but victory was Al-Hilal’s – one they will always savour, and a defeat City may not be allowed to forget.
