Al Hilal stun Manchester City in seven-goal thriller to reach Club World Cup quarterfinals
RIYADH — Saudi giants Al Hilal pulled off a sensational 4-3 extra-time victory over Manchester City on Monday night to book their spot in the quarterfinals of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025.
In a dramatic encounter at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Al Hilal came from behind twice to eliminate the English champions, with Brazilian forward Marcos Leonardo scoring a stunning brace, including the winning goal in the 112th minute.
City opened the scoring early through Bernardo Silva in the 9th minute, but Hilal responded brilliantly after the break.
Leonardo equalized just a minute into the second half, before compatriot Malcom gave the Saudis a 2-1 lead in the 52nd minute.
Erling Haaland drew City level just three minutes later, sending the match into extra time at 2-2.
Al Hilal struck first in extra time as Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly powered home a header in the 94th minute, only for substitute Phil Foden to respond for City in the 104th minute.
But in a night to remember for Saudi football, Leonardo scored again in the 112th minute to seal an unforgettable win and send Al Hilal through to face Fluminense, who earlier knocked out Inter Milan 2-0.
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Superstar signings and ones that got away The biggest of them all was Cristiano Ronaldo, who completed one of the most stunning moves in football history when joining Al-Nassr for a reported salary of up to $200 million a year in 2022. That deal prompted a spectacular recruitment drive by Saudi teams — backed by the Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund — and in came superstars like Neymar and Karim Benzema, while audacious attempts were made to sign Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. Confirmation that Saudi Arabia had won the right to host the World Cup came in December. On the field, the Club World Cup was the first chance for the country to make a global statement about the growth of its domestic game, which is largely unheralded outside of Asia. It is likely why Al-Hilal — Saudi Arabia's most successful team — were so eager to make another marquee signing before the tournament began and tried, but failed, to lure Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes. 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