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Simone Inzagi likened “climbing Everest without oxygen” as he knocked out Pep Guardiola’s side from the Club World Cup to “climbing Everest without oxygen” in extra time against Manchester City.
Al Giral scored twice in the extra time to win a 4-3 victory, with Marcos Leonardo’s second goal in the 112th minute secured an astonishing victory.
Leonardo and Malcolm turned the game over to their minds after Bernardo Silva gave City an early lead, but Erling Haaland’s equalizer extended the game.
Phil Foden once again recovered parity after Kalidou Koulibaly’s header, but Leonardo had the final say to set up a quarter-final with Fluminense.
Al-Hilal scored as many goals against City as Guardiola’s team allowed (4) in the first 11 Club World Cup matches he was involved in.
And they were clinical with opportunities, scoring on 4 out of 6 shots on target, surpassing their expected target (XG) of 3.2.
Inzagi was pleased to see his team overcome the odds and beat one of his favourites.
“The key to this outcome was the players, the minds they put on the pitch,” Inzagi said.
“We had to do something extraordinary because we knew how good Manchester City was and we knew we had to climb Mount Everest without oxygen.
“Gardiola is the best coach in the world, but we did our best and deserved the outcome.”
Midfielder Sergezi Mirenkovic Savic, who was straightened to Leonardo by Ederson, led to a victory goal, believes that victory should make people think before he raises questions about Al Giral.
“Let’s see if they criticize us,” he said. “We showed them that they weren’t talking about the league.
“We’ll show you Real Madrid, Salzburg, Pachuca and tonight, and we hope we keep showing it.”
As for City, the early exits made the unfortunate season worse and we couldn’t win another trophy.
Guardiola’s team had a chance in the game, with 30 attempts overall and 14 target attempts, but Al-Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made 10 saves, making it an inspired form.
They fell below 4.2 xg and although Guardiola was disappointed to fall into the first knockout hurdle, he pointed out that the city would give it a time to rest before the start of the next domestic season.
“That’s a shame,” Guardiola said. “We were on an incredible journey together and in a good place.
“The atmosphere was really good. I can’t thank enough players for training and playing.
“But it was a difficult game. The margins were minimal. We created a lot and Bounou made incredible saves, but we were very open. We wanted to continue. It was only once every four years.
“But we’re going home, and now it’s time to rest our minds and rest for a new season.”