What a move by Inzaghi! Al Hilal defeat City 4-3 in extra time and fly to the quarter-finals
Another 4-3. Here too after 120 minutes. Simone Inzaghi draws another…Barcelona, beating Guardiola's Manchester City and taking the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup: on Friday the Riyadh team will face Fluminense, who eliminated Inter for a place in the top four. No, it is not a rematch of Istanbul against Pep, because the two games have a different weight. But Orlando's victory comes at the end of a beautiful match, full of twists and turns and with a surprising epilogue, even more so after a first half conducted almost with ease by City. But from the 46th minute onwards, Al Hilal built its victory around a low defensive block and a thousand counterattacks, almost always lethal for Haaland and his teammates. Al Hilal's Frattesi was Marcos Leonardo, who made it 4-3 in the 7th minute of the second half of extra time, after the 2-2 in the 90th minute and goals from Koulibaly and Foden in the first half of extra time.
Inzaghi surprises and chooses the three-man defense, placing Ruben Neves in the center of the department and leaving Milinkovic-Savic behind Marcos Leonardo at least initially, but with the former Lazio player dropping back to leave the position to Malcom on the counterattack. Guardiola goes straight with the 4-3-3 and immediately takes control of the game. It's not that Al Hilal leaves the ball, they simply never see it because it's always at the feet of the English. The result is an almost one-way first half: eight shots on target to zero, a shooting range that sees only one great protagonist in the Arab team, the goalkeeper Bono. Who falls only in the 9th minute: the insertion of Ait-Nouri gives way to a rebound that favors Bernardo Silva, free to put it in from a few steps. Al Hilal complains about a handball by Ait-Nouri: the game remains stopped for three minutes, then the goal is validated. City always find a free man in the three-quarter line, Kanno acts as a screen but cannot cope with the play frequencies of Bernardo Silva and his teammates, Reijnders is inspired and Gundogan commands the game. Bono first blocks Savinho coming out in the 25th minute, then Gundogan, Gvardiol and finally Doku on a pass from Savinho. Al Hilal struggles, the exchanges between the wingers and the mezzali do not work well, especially on the left. Only two minutes from the end of the first half Kanno tries to find Marcos Leaonardo, whose shot ends out. It is a signal, however.
A signal because the second half is of a completely different nature. Al Hilal takes a flutter of the wings to find the equaliser, with the first shot on goal by Marcos Leonardo, good and quick to turn his head inside the area after an attempt by Malcom. Guardiola grimaces, Inzaghi laughs. City prepares three substitutions, but does not have time to execute them. Corner for the English - it is the 7th minute - and tactical suicide, ball recovered by Al Hilal, Cancelo with a screaming outside kick launches Malcom who flies all alone from the halfway line and beats Ederson with his left. Surprisingly, the turnaround is complete. Here they are, the substitutions: Gundogan, Gvardiol and Matheus Nunes go out, time for Haaland - so far very much in the shadow - to take advantage this time of a corner by Bernardo Silva. It is 2-2. But the game continues non-stop. Malcom has time to fly on the counterattack and earn a penalty, which however is tainted by a previous start in millimetric offside. It is a game that lives on moods, at this point. With Al Hilal who now restart, restart indeed. With 11' from the end the chance falls on the head of Kanno, who all alone on the developments of a free kick misses the deflection. Five minutes later again City: Akanji's header on a corner, the ball hits the crossbar and on the rebound Haaland's tap-in is stopped on the line by a miracle from the new entrant Lajami. There is no more time, it goes to extra time.
Guardiola takes off Reijnders and Haaland for Cherki and Marmoush. But the winning move is Inzaghi's: 93rd minute, third corner of the entire match for Al Hilal, Koulibaly rises between the heads of Ake and Ruben Dias and makes it 3-2. Over? No way. Guardiola also plays the Foden card. A blessed card. Because when City seems to be playing on each other, with a very unproductive ball movement, the brilliant ball finds Cherki at the far post, where Foden crosses with a left-footed pearl. Still parity and the last 15 minutes. Al Hilal has more, now they are in a great position, while City almost seems to forget to run backwards and instead football would also require this. And then, when from the left Renan Lodi finds Milinkovic Savic at the far post, the game is done: a header that Ederson deflects to the feet of Marcos Leonardo, tap-in and 4-3. Another 4-3 for Inzaghi. Who almost gets to five, with Ruben Neves. But maybe it's more romantic this way. If Inter hadn't committed suicide with Fluminense, there would have been an incredible crossover. Now the semi-final objective is a matter only for the demon who has taken up residence in Riyadh.
La Gazzetta dello Sport
