Al Hilal’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ali Lajami celebrate as Manchester City’s Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush look dejected after the Round of 16 match of the Club World Cup in Orlando, Florida, U.S., on June 30, 2025
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Orlando Marcos Leonardo scored his second goal on a rebound in the 112th minute, and Al Hilal stunned Manchester City 4-3 on Monday (June 30, 2025) night, eliminating the Premier League power from the Club World Cup in the round of 16.
In a back-and-forth thriller at Camping World Stadium, the Saudi Arabian club took the lead three times, including twice in extra time. Kalidou Koulibaly put Al Hilal ahead 3-2 in the 94th minute, but Phil Foden — who entered as a substitute four minutes earlier — equalized in the 104th.
Leonardo finally put Man City away. Goalkeeper Ederson saved a header by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from inside the penalty box and the ball deflected to Leonardo, who redirected it with his right foot as he fell to the pitch near the left post.
Al Hilal moves on to face Fluminense of Brazil, which took down Inter Milan earlier Monday.
Leonardo also scored in the 46th minute to even the match at 1-1.
Bernardo Silvan opened the scoring in the ninth minute for Man City. Malcom put Al Hilal ahead in the 52nd, and Erling Haaland found the net in the 55th to make it 2-2.
Manchester City nearly won it regulation in the final seconds of added time on a counterattack that was thwarted by a hard challenge. Referees did not call a penalty, and Man City coach Pep Guardiola ran onto the field to argue the decision after the whistle.
Al Hilal will face Fluminense on July 4 at Camping World Stadium for a spot in the semifinals.
“We defeated a very, very strong team. That looked impossible yesterday.” — Simone Inzaghi, Al Hilal coach.
“It’s a pity. … Nothing to say. We’ll have to continue. I still have the feeling this team is doing well. We’ll go home and have time to rest.” — Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach.
Fluminense’s early goal knocks out Inter Milan
Germán Cano scored on a header three minutes into the match, and Fluminense held on to upset Champions League finalist Inter Milan 2-0 to advance to the Club World Cup quarterfinals in front of a sparse crowd of 20,030 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Fluminense’s Thiago Silva celebrates after Hercules scores their second goal as Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez looks on
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Almost before both teams were able to break a sweat in the 90-degrees Fahrenheit heat, Jhon Arias sent a slightly deflected crossing pass from the right corner that Cano headed between goalkeeper Yann Sommer’s legs into the net for a 1-0 lead. It was all they would need.
The Brazilians appeared to add to their lead late in the first half, but Ignacio’s header into the net was waived off due to being offside.
On the other end of the pitch, Milan kept pressing, eager for the tie.
The Italians controlled the time of possession throughout the match, owning the ball 68% of the time, and certainly had its chances after outshooting the Brazilian team 16-11.
But Milan simply couldn’t will the ball into the net.
It was one bad bounce after another. And often times when one of their shots was saved there was no one there to score off a rebound.
Fluminense’s Hercules eventually added a goal on a wide open shot for Fluminense in stoppage time for the final 2-0 margin.
As the match was winding down Fluminense players jumped up and down on the sideline. That celebration carried over to the field after the match, where they hopped up and down in unison in a huddle, their arms wrapped around each other.
After the game, frustrated Inter Milan captain Laurato Martínez said in a fiery interview that “whoever doesn’t want to be here should leave.”
Published – July 01, 2025 11:28 am IST