Club World Cup: Why we defeated Man City – Al Hilal coach, Inzaghi explains

Al Hilal manager, Simone Inzaghi, has offered insights into how his side pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over Manchester City in the Club World Cup Round of 16 clash held in the early hours of Tuesday.

The Saudi Arabian giants staged an impressive comeback after Bernardo Silva had given Manchester City an early lead. Marcos Leonardo brought Al Hilal level in the second half, and shortly after, Malcom put the team ahead with a goal in the 52nd minute.

Erling Haaland then restored parity for Pep Guardiola’s side to force the game into extra time.

Kalidou Koulibaly then headed in a corner-kick to give Al Hilal the lead in extra time, but Phil Foden equalized for the Premier League giants.

However, Leonardo’s second goal of the match eight minutes from time gave Inzaghi’s side the victory at the Camping World Stadium.

Speaking at his post-match interview, Inzaghi insisted that his players put in an “extraordinary” performance against the Cityzens.

“We knew had to do something extraordinary if we were to beat Manchester City and that is what the boys did tonight, the lads were simply wonderful,” Inzaghi said.

“We had to be extraordinary because well, Manchester City, we all know that team. So we had to climb Everest without oxygen to win the game and we made it.

“We were great. All the players were exceptional in everything, in the possession phase, non-possession phase.”

Al Hilal will now face Fluminense in the quarter-final. The Brazilian side had defeated Inter Milan 2-0 on Monday night.