O Flamengo did not show great football and lost by 3 to 2 to Al Hilal, from Saudi Arabia, this Tuesday, in Tanger, Morocco. With the result, the Arabs will compete in the final of the Club World Cup. As for the Red-Blacks, they will have to settle for the third place decision.
Al Hilal opened the scoring at the beginning, with Salem Al-Dawsari, from the penalty spot. Flamengo drew with Pedro shortly afterwards. In the additions of the initial stage, the Arabs were ahead, again with Salem Al-Dawsari, from the penalty spot. In the bid, Gerson was expelled, leaving the cariocas with one less player.
In the second half, Flamengo abused the passing errors and saw Al Hilal declare victory with Vietto. The Red-Blacks still cashed in the additions, once again with Pedro.
Now, Al Hilal awaits the winner of the other semifinal, between Real Madrid and Al Ahly, from Egypt, who play this Wednesday, at 4 pm (Brasília time).
How was the game?
Al Hilal surprised at the beginning and opened the scoring after four minutes. Vietto was knocked down by Matheuzinho in the area and the referee called a penalty. Salem Al-Dawsari charged with category, with no chance for Santos.
The setback made Flamengo look for the attack, but saw the opponent take a position behind and keep trying to advance at speed. The first submission of the red-blacks happened at eight minutes, with Pedro. Even nervous, the cariocas made the pressure count and tied in the 19th minute. Pedro received a pass in the area and kicked it across the net.
The draw reassured Flamengo, who kept possession of the ball. However, the Red-Blacks failed to create good plays. Al-Hilal continued with the tactic of looking for counterattacks, without success.
In the final part, the cariocas returned to sketch a pressure and got close to the area. However, Al Hilal also went on the attack and ended up being awarded in the 53rd minute. After being called by VAR, the referee scored a penalty for the Arabs. To make matters worse, Gerson received the second yellow card and was expelled. Salem Al-Dawsari charged again to put the Asian team ahead at half-time.
In the second half, even with one player less, Flamengo pressed in the first minutes in search of a draw. Only it was Al Hilal who almost scored, in the 12th minute. Marega made a great move and played for Khalifah Al-Dawsari, who hit the crossbar.
The move cheered up the Arabs, who started to control the match. To make matters worse, Flamengo missed many passes in the middle and provided Al Hilal with counterattacks. In the 24th minute, in rapid advance, Vietto shot towards the goal to score the third.
The new setback was felt by the Flamengo supporters. The cariocas barely changed their posture and continued to see Al-Hilal dominate the confrontation. The Arabs still had a chance to expand the scoreboard. But in addition, Pedro scored the second for the cariocas, but not enough to decree the defeat of the Brazilian team in Morocco.
DATASHEET
FLAMENGO (BRA) 2 X 3 AL HILAL (ARA)
Local: Ibn Batoutua Stadium in Tangier (Morocco)
Data: Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Time: 4pm (Brasília time)
Referee: Istvan Kovacs (ROM)
Assistants: Vasile Florin Marinescu (ROM) and Mihai Ovidiu Artene (ROM)
Yellow cards: David Luiz, Erick Pulgar, Gabriel and Pedro (Flamengo); Vietto, Jahfali and Khalifah Al-Dawsari (Al Hilal)
Red card: Gerson (Flemish)
GOALS:
FLAMENGO: Pedro, at 19min of the first half and 45min of the second half
Al-Hilal: Salem Al-Dawsari, at 4 and 53min of the first half; Vietto, at 24min of the second half
FLAMENGO: Saints; Matheuzinho, David Luiz, Léo Pereira (Fabrício Bruno) and Ayrton Lucas; Thiago Maia (Vidal), Gerson, Arrascaeta (Erick Pulgar) and Everton Ribeiro (Everton); Gabriel Barbosa and Pedro.
Technician: Vitor Pereira
AL HILAL: Al-Mayyouf, Abdulhamid, Jang Hyun-Soo, Al-Boleahi e Khalifah Al-Dawsari (Nasser Al-Dawsari); Cuéllar, Carrillo and Salem Al-Dawsari; Vietto (Jahfali), Ighalo (Michael) and Marega.
Technician: Ramon Diaz
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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