Al Hilal defeats City in a historic Club World Cup epic

Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal club pulled off a major upset by eliminating English side Manchester City from the 2025 Club World Cup. The Blues defeated the Citizens 4-3 in a marathon encounter at Campus World Stadium early Tuesday morning, in the Round of 16. Al Hilal secured their place in the quarter-finals of the tournament in the United States. The first half ended with City leading 1-0 through Bernardo Silva in the ninth minute, amid controversy and protests among Al Hilal players, who demanded the referee disallow the goal and consider it a handball by City player Rayan Ait Nouri. In the second half, the Blues scored two consecutive goals against Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson in the 46th and 52nd minutes, scored by Marcos Leonardo and Malcom, respectively. In the 55th minute, Norwegian striker Erling Haaland equalized for Pep Guardiola's team, forcing extra time after the regular time ended in a 2-2 draw. Al-Hilal scored the third and fourth goals in the 94th and 112th minutes, respectively, from Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Marcos Leonardo. Phil Foden added the third goal for the Citizens in the 104th minute. With this victory, the Saudi team qualifies for the World Cup quarter-finals to face its Brazilian rival Fluminense, who eliminated the Italian team Inter Milan.