Al-Hilal self-destruct to lose 4-0 to Al-Ahly in Club World Cup third-place play-off

Al-Ahly defeated nine-man Al-Hilal 4-0 on Saturday to take third place at the FIFA Club World Cup, as the Saudi Arabian champions self-destructed in the “Arab Classico” in Abu Dhabi.

While victory gave the Egyptian giants a second successive bronze medal at the tournament, the main talking point was the performance of Al-Hilal.

If the Asian champions started slowly in their 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in the semi-final, that was nothing to events at the Al-Nahyan Stadium where, unlike the game three days earlier, there was no second-half rally that meant the players could leave the pitch with their reputations enhanced.

This game was lost inside a nightmare first 30 minutes, when central defender Yasser Ibrahim scored twice and Al-Hilal had Matheus Pereira and Mohamed Kanno sent off. In fact, the entire first half must have been one of the most painful in the illustrious history of the 17-time Saudi champions.

The signs were there right from the kick-off.

Goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Owais, in the team for his debut as one of a number of changes made by Hilal boss Leonardo Jardim, almost had the worst of starts, spilling a low cross inside the opening 30 seconds.

The 10-time African champions continued to make the early running and it was no surprise that they took the lead after eight minutes in the simplest of fashions. The Saudi Arabian defense was nowhere to be seen when Maaloul swung the ball in from a left-sided free-kick and there was the unmarked Ibrahim to head home from close range.

Things got worse minutes later when Al-Hilal were reduced to 10 men with Pereira ejected for a rash foul. And then the Red Giants, who looked likely to score every time they entered the opponent’s half, extended their lead. 

Mohamed