Al-Hilal’s FIFA Club World Cup dreams over after 1-0 loss to Chelsea

LONDON: Chelsea ended Al-Hilal’s dreams of winning the FIFA Club World Cup with a 1-0 victory in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. But the Saudis won plenty of international respect for pushing the European champions all the way in an enthralling contest.

A first-half goal from unsettled striker Romelu Lukaku made the difference for the English Premier League powerhouses, who were relieved to hang on to that lead in the face of some serious pressure from the Asian champions after the break. It was the classic tale of two halves: Chelsea had the best of the first and Al-Hilal the second but they could not cancel out Lukaku’s strike.

In front of a lively crowd at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Chelsea controlled the opening 45 minutes and should have taken the lead after just 10 minutes but Hakim Ziyech shot just over from inside the area.

Soon after, as the Saudis struggled to get out of their area never mind their half, Lukaku only had to get a touch inside the six-yard box on a perfect low cross from the right to turn the ball into the net but was unable to do so.

The Belgian striker remained a lively presence and was presented with an even easier chance from even closer range around the half hour. This time he made no mistake. Kai Havertz got to the left byline and his cross bounced off the chest of Al-Hilal’s Yasser Al-Shahrani, facing the wrong way, falling to Lukaku who lashed the ball home from close range.

Al-Hilal thrashed Emirati side Al-Jazira 6-1 on Sunday to secure this semi-final clash but against Chelsea they struggled to bring their talented attackers into the game at all. Salem Al-Dawsari had Al-Hilal’s first attempt on goal, after 35 minutes, as he cut into the left side of the Chelsea area and fired over.