Manchester City were dumped out of the Club World Cup
Manchester City were dumped out of the Club World Cup
Manchester City were knocked out of the Club World Cup after blowing a lead against Al Hilal in the biggest upset of the tournament. Al Hilal reversed a 1-0 deficit to lead 2-1 in the last-16 clash and finally got the job done in extra time.
To their credit, City fought back twice; Erling Haaland quickly equalised in the second half but nobody could find a winner in normal time. That sent the game into extra time, and Kalidou Koulibaly put Al Hilal back in front to leave the Blues staring at elimination again.
However, substitutes Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden combined for another equaliser but then Marcos Leonardo bagged the winner. Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News:
Ederson: Some decent saves but ended up conceding four, which never looks good for a 'keeper. Could he have got more on the winner? 5
Nunes: Plenty to like going forward, not too much before that but the team got worse after he was taken off. 6
Dias: Lucky not to give away a reckless penalty in the second half and showed indecision when he needed to step up. 5
Gvardiol: Booked in the first half and unable to stop Al Hilal from turning the game on its head before he was taken off. 6
Ait-Nouri: Terrific one-two with Reijnders to set up the opening goal, although he did leave plenty of space that Al Hilal exploited. 7
Silva: His fine attacking form continued with a lovely run for Reijnders and he popped up everywhere but even he ran out of energy. 7
Gundogan: Looked quicker in the first half than he had all season, full of running and invention in the final third. 7
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Reijnders: Smart work for the first goal as his excellent start to life with City continues. 7
Savinho: Looked regularly dangerous for plenty of the game, so should be a disappointment that he wasn't able to score or assist a goal today. 6
Doku: Bright once again, using his trickery to slalom through defenders. Couldn't find a decisive contribution, though. 6
Haaland: Enjoyed playing receiver again as he teed up teammates before picking up another goal to equalise. 7
Substitutes
Rodri (for Gundogan, 54) Looked to settle seamlessly but his passes got looser as he tired and he was taken off in extra time. 6
Ake (for Gvardiol, 54) Such a threat from corners in opposition boxes, although that matters less when defensive set-pieces aren't good enough. 6
Akanji (for Nunes, 56) An important block in the second half, although less of an attacking threat than Nunes. 6
Cherki (for Reijnders, 91) What a delivery for Foden to equalise again! 7
Marmoush (for Haaland, 91) Unable to lead the line as Haaland had. 6
Foden (for Rodri, 101) Brilliant goal minutes after coming on the pitch. 7
Not used: Ortega, Bettinelli, Stones, Reis, O'Reilly, Khusanov, Gonzalez, Bobb