TANGIER: Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal stunned 10-man Flamengo to reach the Club World Cup final with a 3-2 victory over the South American champions on Tuesday thanks to two penalties from Salem Al Dawsari and a close-range strike from Luciano Vietto. Al Dawsari opened the scoring from the spot after three minutes and while Pedro levelled for the Brazilians, their hopes were hit when Gerson conceded a penalty and was sent off in first-half stoppage time. That allowed Al Dawsari to grab his second and Vietto added a third after the break, ensuring Pedro’s late goal for Flamengo was just a consolation.
Al Hilal, the first Saudi side to reach the Club World Cup final, will face the winners of Real Madrid’s semi-final against Al Ahly on Wednesday in Rabat. On a windy and chilly night at a half-empty Ibn Batouta stadium, Flamengo’s Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira sprung a surprise, leaving former Atletico Madrid fullback Filipe Luis on the bench.
He also left out Uruguay’s Guillermo Varela, opting for a younger and more attack-oriented fullback duo. It was Varela’s replacement, right back Matheuzinho, who changed the course of the game in the third minute, when he went too forcefully into a challenge on Vietto inside the box and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Al-Dawsari slotted it home, just out of the reach goalkeeper Santos. Flamengo went on the attack and wasted a golden opportunity in the 15th minute when Gerson, in a great position to score inside the area, tried to win a penalty instead of shooting.
The referee did not fall for it and showed a yellow card to the Flamengo midfielder for simulation. But Pedro equalised four minutes later, firing home with a first-time strike from close-range from a Matheuzinho assist. Flamengo, desperate to avoid becoming only the fourth Brazilian side to lose a Club World Cup semi-final, lost their cool and were shown four yellow cards in the first half. The fourth, and Gerson’s second, proved decisive as it reduced them to 10 men.
It came after a VAR check right on halftime, as the referee spotted on the pitch-side monitor that the former Olympique de Marseille midfielder had stamped on Vietto’s ankle inside the box. Al-Dawsari didn’t pass up the opportunity, slotting his spot-kick to left of the keeper, who had guessed the wrong way. 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.