Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal have sent English giants Manchester City crashing out of the Club World Cup, snatching a shock 4-3 victory in extra time in the biggest upset of the tournament so far.
Reactions have continued to trail Manchester City’s 4-3 defeat to Al-Hilal in the Club World Cup on Tuesday, with Pep Guardiola describing it as a pity.
Marcos Leonardo scored the winning goal with eight minutes of extra time remaining to send Al-Hilal to the quarter-finals of the competition at the expense of the defending champions.
Al-Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou produced an impressive performance in the encounter with 10 saves, taking his tally in the competition to 23 saves in four matches.
While reacting to his players’ performance, Al-Hilal coach Simone Inzaghi described the victory as extraordinary.
He said, “We knew we had to do something extraordinary if we were to beat Manchester City and that is what the boys did tonight, the lads were simply wonderful.”
“We had to be extraordinary because well, Manchester City, we all know that team. So we had to climb Everest without oxygen to win the game and we made it. We were great. All the players were exceptional in everything, in the possession phase, non-possession phase,” he added.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola described their exit as a pity, “At this stage, they are all difficult games. We allowed them to create transitions but we created a lot and in general we were good. It’s a pity. We were in such a good place and I cannot say thank you enough to the staff, how they train and prepare, they have given everything.”
Al-Hilal will now take on Brazilian side Fluminense in the quarter-finals on Friday.
