By Seif Soliman.
Al Ahly have clinched the Club World Cup bronze medal for a second consecutive year following a historic 4-0 victory over Asian champions Al Hilal.
The Reds made it to the third-placed match playoff after beating Mexico’s C.F. Monterrey in the second round, before losing to Copa Libertadores champions Palmeiras.
Meanwhile, Saudi giants Al Hilal had knocked out hosts Al Jazira 6-1 in their opening game as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to European champions, Chelsea, in the semi-finals.
As Mohamed Magdy Afsha and Ayman Ashraf had to miss the game for suspension, Pitso Mosimane decided to hand Mohamed Abdelmonem his Al Ahly debut, with the international players all making a return to the starting XI.
Surprisingly, the game started in the favour of Al Ahly, who looked like they are searching for an early goal from the get-go as Al Hilal’s keeper was forced to deal with a cross from Taher Mohamed just a few seconds into the game.
A couple of crosses from Ali Maaloul confirmed that Al Ahly are looking for nothing but an early goal, which they found quickly in the 8th minute.
As Ahmed Abdelkader was brought down on the edge of the box, Ali Maaloul stepped up and sent in an inch-perfect cross which was met by Yasser Ibrahim’s header from close range to make it 1-0.
Al Ahly’s perfect start was handed a massive boost as Al Hilal’s star man Matheus Pereira was sent off in the 14th minute following a reckless challenge on Amr El-Sulya.
Mosimane’s men didn’t need long to take advantage of the sending-off as Yasser Ibrahim completed his brace with another header in the 17th minute.
Mohamed Hany launched a rocket towards the goal that was parried away by the keeper, before the follow-up was turned in by another header from Yasser Ibrahim.
In the 26th minute, Ali Maaloul had a huge chance to make it three for Al Ahly after he was put through on goal, but his shot inched just past the post.
Just one minute, Al Hilal received another straight red card as Mohamed Kanno kicked Yasser Ibrahim out of play. The referee had to consult the VAR before showing his second red card of the game.
Al Ahly had more chances to add to their tally through Aliou Dieng and Mohamed Sherif, but their third of the game came from Ahmed Abdelkader in the 40th minute.
Great teamwork display from Al Ahly led to Ali Maaloul finding Abdelkader inside the box as he dribbled past the defence with a brilliant skillful run, before finding the back of the net.
Al Ahly kept missing the chances through Mohamed Sherif and Taher Mohamed as the first-half eventually finished in a 3-0 lead to the Reds.
At the half-time break, Mosimane brought on Karim Fouad and Hussein El-Shahat for Mohamed Hany and Taher Mohamed.
The second-half didn’t differ from the first 45 minutes as Al Ahly kept dominating the pitch and if it wasn’t for Mohamed Sherif’s miss they could have scored the fourth quickly.
The fourth however did come in the 64th minute through a stunner from Amr El-Sulya to record Al Ahly’s biggest-ever victory in the Club World Cup.
Searching for more goals, Walid Soliman was subbed in for Aliou Dieng and it almost paid off as El-Shahat played in a cross inside the six-yard box which was found by Hamdi Fathi, but the midfielder strangely put the ball well wide.
Al Ahly thought they made it five when Ahmed Abdelkader was put through on goal and put the ball past the keeper, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
The remaining minutes saw Al Ahly miss chances right and left through Mohamed Sherif, El-Shahat, and Walid Soliman while Al Hilal registered their first shot of the game in the 84th minute.
Mahmoud Wahid and Luis Miquissone were two late subs by Mosimane for Ali Maaloul and Ahmed Abdelkader.
Al Ahly still dominated the game, but couldn’t add more goals as the game eventually finished in a 4-0 win and bronze medal for the Reds.
Al Ahly XI: Ali Lotfi; Mohamed Hany, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Yasser Ibrahim, Ali Maaloul; Aliou Dieng, Amr El-Sulya, Hamdi Fathi; Taher Mohamed Taher, Ahmed Abdelkader, Mohamed Sherif.
Al Hilal XI: Mohammed Al Owais; Yasser Al Shahrani, Muteb Al Mufarrij, Hyun-Soo Jang, Saud Abdulhamid; Gustavo Cuellar, Salem Al Dawsari, Matheus Pereira, Mohamed Kanno, Andre Carrillo, Moussa Marega.