Man City stunned in Club World Cup

Manchester City 3 - 4 Al-Hilal

Manchester City’s reign as Club World Cup holders came to a dramatic end 

Author | Macca

The winners of the last iteration of the competition were knocked out at the last-16 stage by Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in a pulsating seven-goal contest.

Pep Guardiola’s side had eased through the group stage but came undone with a chaotic defensive display that saw them concede four times and fall short of the quarter-finals.

City have been quick out of the blocks in this competition and made another fast start when captain Bernardo Silva tucked home from close range after Al-Hilal failed to clear. The Saudi side were incensed, claiming Rayan Ait-Nouri had handled the ball in the build-up.

Bono was kept busy in the Al-Hilal goal, producing smart stops to deny Savinho and Ilkay Gundogan, before reacting sharply to tip Josko Gvardiol’s header over the bar.

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Al-Hilal offered little threat in the first half, but just 44 seconds after the restart, Brazilian striker Leonardo nodded in the equaliser. City were rocked further when former Barcelona winger Malcom raced clear to put Al-Hilal ahead on 52 minutes.

The lead lasted barely three minutes as Erling Haaland pounced from a corner to level the scores once again. 

City then pressed for a winner, with Manuel Akanji glancing a header against the post and Haaland seeing his follow-up cleared off the line by Ali Lajami.

In extra time, former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly powered in a header to seemingly send Al-Hilal through, only for Phil Foden to volley home from a tight angle to keep City in it.

But it was Marcos Leonardo who had the final say, turning in at the back post with eight minutes remaining to complete a famous victory for the 2021 AFC Champions League winners.