Surprise in the first semifinal of the Club World Cup. Al-Hilal beat Flamengo (2-3) and is already waiting for the winner of Real Madrid-Al Ahly in the final on Saturday. Ramón Díaz, the Argentine coach of the Saudi team, made some daring statements before the game, where he complained that the South American champion would go directly to the semifinal while his team had to play a preliminary phase. Football seems to have proved the coach right with a victory as unexpected as it was deserved. Saudi football, which has signed Cristiano Ronaldo and is trying to seduce some of the stars on the world scene with millions, receives an important boost.
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Santos, David Luiz, Matheuzinho, Leo Pereira (Fabricio Bruno, min. 45), Ayrton, Thiago Maia (Vidal, min. 81), Gerson, Everton Ribeiro (Everton, min. 68), De Arrascaeta (Erick Pulgar, min. 45), Pedro and Gabriel Barbosa
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Abdullah Al-Mayoof, Jang Hyun-Soo, Saud Abdulhamid, Ali Albulayhi, Khalifah Al Dawsari, Moussa Marega, Salem Al Dawsari, Gustavo Cuéllar, André Carrillo, Vietto (Mohammed Jahfali, min. 87) y Ighalo (Michael, min. 57) )
goals 0-1 min. 4: Salem Al-Dawsari. 1-1 min. 20: Pedro. 1-2 min. 54: Salem Al-Dawsari. 1-3 min. 70: Vietto. 2-3 min. 90: Pedro.
Referee István Kovács
Yellow cards Gerson (min. 14), Gabriel Barbosa (min. 16), David Luiz (min. 41), Vietto (min. 42), Erick Pulgar (min. 56), Khalifah Al Dawsari (min. 61), Thiago Maia ( min. 72), Mohammed Jahfali (min. 88) and Pedro (min. 98)
Flamengo showed a very poor image and at minute 3 it began to be sensed that the script was not going to be as expected. An old acquaintance of Spanish football like Luciano Vietto, in the Saudi league at just 29 years old, was very adept at forcing a penalty that Salem Al-Dawsari converted, the same player who surprised the world with his great goal against Argentina in Qatar.
After absorbing the initial blow, another World Cup player, the Brazilian Pedro, woke up Flamengo with the equalizer in the 20th minute. In the absence of continuity in the game, the striker hooked a good right foot from the balcony of the area to equalize the contest . However, the Libertadores champion continued without taking the pulse of the match and Al-Hilal then fished in a troubled river with a play that would mark the future of the semifinal. An elusive Vietto once again forced a penalty, ordered in the VAR by the Spanish Martínez Munuera, and the punishment for the Brazilians came twice: Gerson was sent off for a double yellow card and Salem made it 1-2 in the discount of the first half .
With one more player, the second half was a monologue for the Saudis, led by the power of Marega. The former Porto player was a nightmare for a blurred David Luiz, who appeared in all the photos of the opponent’s goals. As a result of this superiority, Vietto made it 1-3 with a shot that recalled his best moments at Villarreal.
Con olés in the stands that chanted the Al-Hilal passes it seemed closer to 1-4 than 2-3, but Pedro used opportunism to close the gap in the final stretch. The outburst of pride in the discount was insufficient and did not serve to prevent the failure of Flamengo in Tangier.
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