Simone Inzaghi's Sweet Revenge with Al Hilal

ORLANDO, TUESDAY – After two unsuccessful attempts to conquer Manchester City and Pep Guardiola with Inter Milan, Simone Inzaghi has drawn important lessons from the clashes in the UEFA Champions League. Inzaghi seeks to satisfy his curiosity by helping Al Hilal eliminate City in the round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup, on Tuesday (1/7/2025) morning WIB, at Camping World Stadium, Orlando.

Al Hilal has established itself as the sole representative of Asia advancing to the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup. The team nicknamed "The Ruler" defeated City 4-3 in a thrilling match in front of 42,311 spectators, including FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The four goals scored by Al Hilal demonstrate that Inzaghi has perfected Inter's shortcomings in two matches against City during the 2022-2023 Champions League final and the group stage of the 2024-2025 season. At that time, Inter lost 0-1 in the final match in Istanbul, Turkey, and then held City to a goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.

Having been surprised by Bernardo Silva's goal after just nine minutes, Al Hilal scored twice early in the second half through Marcos Leonardo's tap-in in the 46th minute, then Malcom punished City through a fast-break or quick counter-attack to reply to City's corner kick in the 52nd minute.

Balas City, through a shot from Erling Haaland amidst the chaos three minutes later, forced the game into extra time. Al Hilal added two goals through Kalidou Koulibaly in the 94th minute and Leonardo in the 112th minute. Meanwhile, "The Citizens" only managed to score one goal in response through Phil Foden in the 104th minute.

Four goals from Al Hilal demonstrate that Inzaghi has studied well how to conquer City. Something that failed to be executed with Inter. Inzaghi implemented a highly lethal counterattack that troubled City.

In a positive transition process, Al Hilal directed the ball to the flanks, relying on fast players such as Malcom on the right side and Nasser Al-Dawsari on the left. This scheme successfully led to the second goal scored by Malcom.

In addition, Inzaghi emphasized the importance of Al Hilal players winning the second ball duels in the attack process, which were mostly through crosses into the heart of City's defense. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, a player Inzaghi knows very well since coaching Lazio, was the main target of the crosses. The Serbian player's ability in aerial duels was very troublesome for City's defenders.

In the first goal by Al-Hilal, the owner of 19 Saudi League titles, Leonardo took advantage of the rebound from Al-Dawsari's shot, which was not cleared perfectly by the City defender. Then, Leonardo first tapped the ball from the save by City goalkeeper, Ederson, following a precise header from Milonkovic-Savic to secure a quarter-final ticket for his team.

Gael Clichy, a former City player, stated that Al Hilal's victory was due to the appropriate tactical approach from Inzaghi, who has only been with the team for a month.

"Inzaghi has a good understanding of City's problems during this season in the (negative) transition process. This is based on many match videos and his experience of meeting City in the last few seasons," said Clichy in his post-match analysis on DAZN.

Koulibaly has also become a mainstay for Inzaghi in corner kick situations. As a result, Koulibaly was able to win the aerial duel against two City defenders, Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake, during Al Hilal's fourth or final corner kick opportunity.

"It is truly remarkable to score a goal against Man City in this tournament. We demonstrated great mentality to keep fighting because we knew they would continue to strive for goals until the last minute," said Koulibaly as reported by the FIFA website.

Eliminating City, one of the championship contenders, brought joy to the Al Hilal squad. They celebrated the victory with a handful of supporters seated in the stands above their technical area.

The celebration is quite reasonable. Al Hilal has demonstrated that the significant investment by Saudi teams enables them to compete with the best teams in Europe. Likewise, Al Hilal has also pleased the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi Arabian investment entity, as their owner and one of the sponsors of the Club World Cup.

"Facing one of the best teams in the world, we showcased our identity and talent. We want to keep moving forward to prove our true capabilities," said Koulibaly.

Next, Al Hilal will challenge the Brazilian ambassador, Fluminense. Fluminense defeated Inter 2-0.

The four goals scored by Al Hilal are already double the total of two conceded by City in the group stage. Al Hilal indeed could not match the creativity of City's shots. The Citizens produced 14 shots on target from 30 attempts. Meanwhile, Al Hilal created six shots on target from 17 attempts.

Nevertheless, Al Hilal was able to create more opportunities. The number of significant chances was seven for Al Hilal compared to six created by City.

Midfielder and captain of City, Bernardo Silva, acknowledged that disappointment envelops the City squad. Nevertheless, Silva stated that Al Hilal deserved to win and advance to the next round.

"They exploited the individual qualities of their players. We lacked complete control because we lost control when we lost the ball. We should have been more concentrated and organised without the ball to dampen their transitions," Silva told DAZN.