Al Jazira coach Marcel Keizer: blame me for Al Hilal defeat

Marcel Keizer, the Al Jazira coach, shouldered the blame for the hefty defeat after his side were thrashed 6-1 by Al Hilal in the Fifa Club World Cup.

The home side had held a shock early lead against the champions of Asia at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in the capital, as Abdoulay Diaby hit an opener.

However, Hilal brought their class to bear with a crushing display after Odion Ighalo, the former Manchester United striker, had equalised on his debut.

Once Hilal had gone 3-1 up in the second half, Kaizer threw on three attacking substitutes, including the returning UAE striker Ali Mabkhout.

The Saudi powerhouse proceeded to make the most of the increasing gaps in the Jazira backline, as they racked up six goals in all.

“In the first half I thought we played a very good game, especially in the first 30 minutes,” Keizer, the Dutch coach, said.

“The only problem is, if you play against a team like Al Hilal, you should go up 2-0 or 3-0, and then you have a chance.

“When it is only 1-0, with all the individual quality you know they can score from nothing. Two times they scored from nothing, and that is their quality.

“In the second half, it went 3-1 at a corner. That is not very smart, then after this it was my mistake, because I put three strikers in to make a more attacking team.

“They finished us off with more individual skills. What happened in the second half, don’t blame my players, just blame the coach.”

Hilal advance to face Chelsea in Wednesday's semi-final at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium.

Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech training in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Fifa Club World Cup. All images by Chris Whiteoak / The National