Saudi club Al Hilal reaches FIFA Club World Cup final
Salem Al-Dawsari scored two penalties as Al Hilal beat Flamengo 3-2 on Tuesday to reach this weekend’s Club World Cup final in Morocco.
The winner of Wednesday’s other semi-final between European champions Real Madrid and Egypt’s Al Ahly will face the Saudis on Saturday.
Following a collision between Flamengo right back Matheuzinho and Luciano Vietto in the fourth minute, Al-Dawsari scored his first penalty kick.
After scoring against the Brazilians in 2019, the forward for Saudi Arabia became the first player to score against the same team twice at the Club World Cup.
After a quarter of an hour, the teams were level when striker Pedro side-footed his first attempt past 36-year-old Abdullah Al Muaiouf.
After Vietto was tripped by former Marseille midfielder Gerson nine minutes into first-half injury time, Al-Dawsari scored his second penalty.
Gerson received a second yellow card for diving in the Al Hilal box 15 minutes earlier, prompting his dismissal.
Al-Dawsari’s clipped pass was intercepted by Argentine Vietto, who fired in off the crossbar with 20 minutes remaining to bring Al Hilal closer to the final.
Pedro scored an easy tap-in after 20 seconds of the six minutes of extra time, but it was not enough for the Copa Libertadores champions to make a late comeback.
