Al Hilal head coach Simone Inzaghi has praised his players after their thrilling 4-3 victory over Manchester City in the Club World Cup Round of 16 tie, held in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Manchester City took an early lead through Bernardo Silva, but Marcos Leonardo equalized for Al Hilal in the second half. Malcom then gave the Saudi side a 2-1 advantage in the 52nd minute.
Erling Haaland brought City level once again, forcing the game into extra time. Kalidou Koulibaly then headed home from a corner to restore Al Hilal’s lead, only for Phil Foden to level the score once more for the Premier League champions.
However, it was Leonardo’s second goal of the night—scored just eight minutes from time—that sealed a memorable win for Inzaghi’s team at the Camping World Stadium.
Speaking after the match, Inzaghi credited his side’s belief and performance:
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Al Hilal will now face Brazilian club Fluminense in the quarter-finals, after the South American side defeated Inter Milan 2-0 on Monday.
