Al Hilal caused the biggest shock at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 so far when they defeated Manchester City in a dramatic night at Orlando.
The Saudi Pro League side won 4-3 in extra time at the Camping World Stadium to eliminate one of the championship candidates and head into the quarter-finals against Fluminense.
City seemed to be playing around after the first half, in which they created scoring opportunities with almost every attack. But the game was completely reversed in the second half and Al Hilal finally won thanks to the decisive goal in the 112th minute by Marcos Leonardo.
Al Hilal came to the US to make a statement that their huge investment thanks to financial support from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is putting the club on a roadmap that can be compared to major European teams. The 1-1 draw with Real Madrid in the opening match was just a warm-up compared to the shocking result against Man City.
Meanwhile, coach Pep Guardiola must reflect on what could have happened. It was a costly defeat, costing them the chance to increase their £37.8m prize money to more than £90 million if they lift the trophy.
"It's a pity. The atmosphere is really great. I can't thank Manchester City enough and especially the players for how well they have trained and played. The distance is very small.
We really want to go ahead, only coming here once every 4 years. We felt the team was doing well, but we had to go home and now is the time to rest and relax our minds for the new season," Guardiola said after the match.
FIFA will consider this the perfect advertisement for their new FIFA Club World Cup expanded version. Two big teams from different federations face off head-to-head. Goals, chances, drama and excitement. FIFA cannot ask for more.
However, Guardiola will not have the same view.
The Citizens dominated the first 45 minutes and could have scored five or six goals by the end of the first half. Ruben Dias, Savinho, Ilkay Gündogan, Josko Gvardiol and Jeremy Doku all had chances with different levels of difficulty.
However, in the end, City had to pay the price for missed opportunities. Their defensive weakness also returned at the wrong time.
"We are very open. When crosses come, in the first attack, they have the ability to pass the ball and attack. And they have agile players. We created many chances and had many attacks against a team that defended too deep. They have punished us in transition periods," Guardiola added.
For Al Hilal, there is joy in the result, but there is also a sense of confirmation. Players moving to Saudi Arabia have often been accused of pursuing money rather than ambition. Milinkovic-Savic, who left Lazio for Al Hilal in 2023, did not want to miss the opportunity to refute this opinion.
"Let's see if they criticize us. We have shown them that they are not talking about tournaments. We have performed well against Real Madrid, Salzburg, Pachuca and Man City. I hope we will continue to show that" - Milinkovic-Savic said.
They will have a chance to face Fluminense to win a place in the final four. For City, attention will turn to the Premier League after they missed the opportunity to restart Guardiola's reconstruction with a trophy.
