Latest news with #SergejMilinkovicSavic
The National
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The National
Al Hilal face Fluminense for Club World Cup semi-final spot buoyed by 'inexplicable' Man City win
Fresh from their seismic win over Manchester City, Al Hilal return to their Fifa Club World Cup quest on Friday with a semi-final spot up for grabs. Standing in their way at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando will be Brazilian side Fluminense, who slayed a European giant of their own in the last 16, sweeping aside Italian club Inter Milan 2-0 on Monday. With the dust still settling from that surprise win, Al Hilal produced the shock of the tournament so far by defeating Pep Guardiola's City 4-3 in a thrilling battle, despite being without captain Salem Al Dawsari and striker Aleksandr Mitrovic. With the scores level at 2-2 at the end of 90 minutes, goals from Kalidou Koulibaly and Marcos Leonardo – his second of the match – would earn the Saudi Pro League side victory, despite Phil Foden pulling City level in extra-time. Midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic described Hilal's achievement as 'inexplicable' adding that their performances in the United States is testament to the growing stature of Saudi football. 'We played against one of the best teams in the world and this motivates us more for the next games,' said the Serb midfielder. 'It's a historic accomplishment for us, the club and the whole country. We believed for every single second and we've done it. 'It was a massive game and a huge result. For anyone who doubts our league, we've shown on the pitch that the Saudi league is strong – we proved it to the world. 'We were missing several key players, which is never ideal. But our squad is deep and full of quality. Everyone who stepped on to the pitch played at a high level and helped us overcome one of the best teams in the world.' The win was all the more remarkable for the fact that head coach Simone Inzaghi only took charge two weeks before the start of the tournament, replacing Jorge Jesus. Despite the fact the Italian has had little time to work with the team, Inzaghi has led Hilal to draws with Spanish giants Real Madrid and Red Bull Salzburg before going on to beat Pachuca and now City. 'It is barely three weeks that we are together and you can see the level of application, they really put the effort in. As a coach clearly that is very satisfying,' said Inzaghi, who left Inter after their Uefa Champions League final thrashing by Paris Saint-Germain last month. Should they triumph in the quarter-finals, Hilal could face another English Premier League side in the last four as they will take on the winners of Chelsea's clash with Brazilian side Palmeiras. Ahead of Friday's game, Al Hilal have signed Morocco international Abderrazak Hamdallah on an emergency loan from Saudi club Al Shabab. The 34-year-old striker and three-time SPL Golden Boot winner trained with the team on Wednesday and will bolster their attacking options with Mitrovic yet to play a single minute at the tournament. Hamdallah has been a prolific striker in the kingdom, netting 150 goals in 163 SPL games for Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and Al Shabab – leaving him third behind Omar Al Somah (155) and Nasser Al Shamrani (154) in the country's all-time scoring chart. A well-travelled career has also seen Hamdallah play in Norway, China and Qatar, while his 25 appearances for Morocco have yielded seven goals. Fluminense, meanwhile, head into the game on a similar high to Hilal having denied Inter the chance of putting one over former coach Inzaghi thanks to goals from German Cano and substitute Hercules. Like Hilal, Fluminense are unbeaten in the US with goalless draws with Borussia Dortmund and Mamelodi Sundowns sandwiching a 4-2 win over Ulsan HD. Charismatic manager Renato Gaucho only took over three months ago but has brought the best out of a squad that narrowly avoided the drop from the Brazilian top flight in 2024. 'Despite the short time frame, I praise the players for believing in the new plan. I convinced them that it would work,' Renato said after beating Inter in Charlotte. 'We were not facing just any team. We were facing one of the giants of European football, a team that just a few days ago was playing in the Champions League final against PSG. 'We are very proud of ourselves for the affection and joy we are bringing to our fans and, without a doubt, to Brazilian football. 'We are proving that we have commitment and attitude on the pitch. Off the pitch, we can't compete financially, but on the pitch it's 11 against 11. That's it.'
France 24
03-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Al-Hilal eye more glory against Fluminense at Club World Cup
The Saudi Pro League club produced a stunning performance to beat Premier League giants Manchester City 4-3 in extra-time in the round of 16. While there was no shortage of heart and effort in Al-Hilal's display against Pep Guardiola's side, it was allied with an impressive tactical discipline, shape and technical quality. And although they will be remembered for putting Middle Eastern club football on the map with that win, the victory came with a strong international influence. Italian Simone Inzaghi took charge of the team just before the start of the tournament and is able to call on experienced talent such as Portugal full-back Joao Cancelo, former Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. It is the latter, who played for Inzaghi at Lazio in Serie A, who proved to be the most influential against City and earned the label "fantastic" from Guardiola. A tall, strong, physical presence in midfield, Milinkovic-Savic is a key element of Al-Hilal's counter-attacking style which proved to be so effective against City. Inzaghi is glad to have a core of players that he can communicate with him and who give his team the necessary nous and experience for these tough tests. "I didn't need to get to know Sergej. He is an extraordinary player who combines quality and quantity," Inzaghi said after Saturday's win. "He ran a lot, just like all the other players. He, like Koulibaly and Joao Cancelo, speak Italian, so they also help my staff and me," he said. 'Historic accomplishment' "It's definitely great to receive these compliments from a manager like Guardiola," Milinkovic-Savic told "We showed what level we're on. I'm feeling great here, we're training well and physically I'm feeling good. Inzaghi has now arrived, who I know really well, so now we need to believe until the end. 'What we did (against City) is inexplicable. We played against one of the best teams in the world and this motivates us more for the next games. It's a historic accomplishment for us, the club and the whole country. We believed for every single second and we've done it." Full-back Renan Lodi, winger Malcom and striker Marcos Leonardo, who scored twice against City, provide some Brazilian influence which could come in very useful at Camping World Stadium on Friday. Fluminense also overcame the odds to reach the last eight, beating UEFA Champions League finalists Inter Milan 2-0. Having gone unbeaten in the group stage including a goalless draw with Borussia Dortmund, the Brazilians -- with 40-year-old Thiago Silva at the back -- have shown strong defensive resiliance. While the two teams meet for the first time in a competitive game, several Brazilians have played for the Saudi club, none better known than 1970 World Cup winner Rivellino who won the domestic league with Al-Hilal after joining them from Fluminense.
Daily Mail
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Al-Hilal star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic demands respect be shown to Saudi Pro League after stunning Club World Cup win over Man City - and urges detractors to 'criticise us now'
Al-Hilal midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic hopes his side's progress in the Club World Cup will change the perception of the Saudi Pro League in Europe. The Serbian was one of the high-profile names to swap elite football on the continent for the riches of the Saudi top flight, which received a substantial cash injection from the nations' Public Investment Fund in 2023. During his eight-year stay in Rome with Serie A giants Lazio, Milinkovic-Savic attracted the attention of several top European clubs and as a result, his move to Al-Hilal was seen as emblematic of the shifting priorities of some of the sport's biggest stars. But following Al-Hilal's 4-3 win over Manchester City in the round of 16 of the Club World Cup - and their unbeaten campaign, which has included clashes against Real Madrid and RB Slazburg, as a whole - there has begun to be a reappraisal of the quality of football being played in the Gulf State. Milinkovic-Savic, who starred in the 120-minute Florida clash, hit back at detractors of Saudi football, taunting naysayers with a request to criticise after their stunning upset. 'Let's see now if they will criticise us after these games,' said Milinkovic-Savic. 'We showed them that they're [wrong], the way the speak about the league. 'We showed against Real Madrid, Salzburg, Pachuca, we showed tonight and I hope that we will continue to show that it's not like this.' Al-Hilal boss Simeone Inzaghi made an even more stunning switch this summer, with him opting to depart Champions League finallists Inter Milan for the Riyadh-based outfit ahead of the Club World Cup. 'The key of this result are the players, the heart they put on the pitch,' said the Italian. 'Tonight we had to do something extraordinary because we knew how good Manchester City are, we knew we had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen, and we were great. '[Pep] Guardiola is the best coach in the world, but tonight we did our best and we deserved the result.' Meanwhile, City skipper Bernardo Silva admitted that the pain of crashing out of the Club World Cup is similar to exiting the Champions League. City twice came from behind but were finally vanquished by a scruffy goal from Marcos Leonardo after 112 minutes. 'It does feel a little bit like going out of the Champions League, yeah,' he admitted. 'No one wanted to lose, we are very used to not having holidays unfortunately because the schedule is crazy. But when we are in a competition we take it very seriously and we had a lot of ambition for this Club World Cup and we wanted to win it.'
