A debut goal from Odion Ighalo helped Al-Hilal come from behind to thrash Al-Jazira 6-1 at the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Sunday and book a mouth-watering semi-final with Chelsea on Wednesday.
Thomas Tuchel, the coach of the current European champions, will be sure not to underestimate the Saudi Arabians. The Asian champions may have looked a little open at the back at times, but produced some memorable moments going forward.
Al-Jazira, who qualified for the tournament by virtue of being the champions of the UAE and then beating Oceania representatives AS Pirae three days ago, had chances before they were swept aside by the attacking riches of the Riyadh giants.
It was not as easy as the scoreline suggests, as Al-Hilal fell behind to an early goal from Abdoulay Diaby, before strikes from Ighalo, the former Manchester United star making his first appearance since signing from Al-Shabab at the end of January, and Matheus Pereira gave the visitors the advantage at the break. Mohamed Kanno provided the all-important cushion of the third goal just before the hour, and the victory was confirmed by late goals from Salem Al-Dawsari, Moussa Marega and Andre Carillo.
Both teams had chances in the first half with Victor Sa almost putting the hosts ahead in the second minute, forcing goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf to get down quickly to save at the feet of the Brazilian. Al-Hilal failed to heed the warning as, after 14 minutes on the clock, the hosts took the lead in the smoothest of fashions.
A through ball from midfield released right-back Mohammed Rabii in behind Al-Hilal’s defence, and his low cross into the area was perfectly weighted for Diaby to slot home from close range.
The goal rocked Leonardo Jardim’s men and it took time for the four-time continental champions to find their rhythm. Al-Jazira came close to extending their lead on the half hour through Sa and had to rely on a fine double save from Abdullah Al-Mayouf to prevent the Abu Dhabi team from extending their lead.
After 36 minutes, however, Al-Hilal were level and while Ighalo will grab the headlines and did grab the goal, much credit has to be given to Kanno. The midfielder, who almost departed for Al-Nassr in January, swapped passes with Pereira and skipped past Mohamed Al-Attas to reach the byline. A perfect chip wrongfooted the Al-Jazira defense, and Ighalo was there to head the ball into an empty net.
Four minutes later, the Riyadh side were ahead. Marega, on the right side, slipped a simple ball inwards to Salem Al-Dawsari whose quick backheel found Pereira on the edge of the box. The former West Bromwich Albion playmaker took a touch to move just inside the area and bend a low shot into the bottom right corner.
Al-Jazira came out looking to put pressure on the Blues after half time, and should have drawn level within ten minutes. Abdulla Idrees sent over a perfect cross from the left, but somehow Ahmed Al-Hashmi, who had squeezed between Jang Hyun-soo and Ali-Al Bulaihi, managed to shoot wide from the edge of the six yard box with the goal at his mercy.
He was not the only one in the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium cursing that miss; just moments later, Al-Hilal’s corner from the left was headed home powerfully by the impressive Kanno. Al-Jazira made a triple substitution in response, changes which included star striker Ali Mabkhout, recently recovered from injury.
It made little difference as Al-Dawsari rounded Khaseif with 13 minutes remaining to make it 4-1 after a Marega assist, and the Malian went on to get a goal for himself. There was still time for Carille to complete Al-Jazira’s miserable evening from the penalty spot.
The UAE giants already knew long before goal number six that they were heading for a play-off for fifth place on Wednesday against Monterrey of Mexico, who lost their match to Al-Ahly of Egypt. Al-Hilal’s thoughts were already turning towards Chelsea; on this showing, it will be worth watching.