Odion Ighalo was in action and helped his Saudi Arabia club Al-Hilal stun Brazil giants Flamengo 3-2 in the semi-final of the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup in Tuesday night.
The famous win means Al-Hilal are the first-ever club from Saudi Arabia to reach the competition’s final.
Ighalo was named in Al-Hilal’s starting eleven before going off in the 57th minute.
Al-Hilal will potentially face Real Madrid in the final, with the Champions League holders in action against Al Ahly of Egypt on Wednesday.
Salem Al Dawsari’s perfectly placed spot-kick gave Al-Hilal the lead in the first minutes of the match after Matheuzinho tripped Luciano Vietto inside the box.
Pedro equalised for Flamengo with a close-range strike in the 20th minute but Al-Hilal regained the lead just before half-time as Al Dawsari again converted from the spot, with Gerson sent off for a second booking after stomping on Vietto in the penalty area.
With Flamengo reduced to 10 men for the entire second half, Al-Hilal controlled the tempo and eventually scored the third, when Al Dawsari returned the favour to Vietto, putting the ball on a plate for the Argentinian to score with a point-blank strike.
Pedro’s close-range range effort in added time was too little to late for Flamengo, who became only the sixth Copa Libertadores champions not to advance to the final.
2 Comments
Congratulations Ighalo.So after all your club and the league you play in is not that bad contrary to popular belief.
How many goals did he convert? We’ll see them at final and dispatch them…..Hala Madrid!!!