What at first glance looked like a football celebration in a packed King Abdullah City Stadium for the reception of Al-Ahly, reigning African champions, quickly turned into a nightmare for Al-Ittihad.
Trailing from the 20th minute, following a penalty converted by Ali Maaloul, the Saudis quickly took on water. But the turning point of the match was perhaps the missed penalty by Karim Benzema in the process, a goal which could have given Al-Ittihad a semblance of confidence just before the break. Nope. Benzema did not shake the net on this clear opportunity to equalize.
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With its titular Brazilian trident, namely Romarinho, Coronado and Fabinho, the second half was also catastrophic for the representative of the host country, since from the 58th minute, Al-Ahly worsened the score via El Shahat, before Ashour hit the nail on the head in the 82nd minute by scoring the 3-0 goal. A goal which made the stands of the stadium empty, despite resembling a yellow tide before and during the match.
Benzema’s goal to reduce the score will only be anecdotal. Al-Ittihad is eliminated in its second match in its Club World Cup, while Al-Ahly will join Fluminense in the semifinal, for a real opposition of style between two teams respectively champions on their continent.
