Al-Hilal’s win over Manchester City lays bare strength of Saudi Arabia | Al-Hilal

So He came to pass that the blue moon was eco -ecoped by the croissant and that the world of football has taken on a slightly different shade. Over the past two years, the Saudi Pro League has been rejected as a destination for the old, gourmet, unlikely or the three. On Tuesday, European football woke up to face a new Saudi football team while Al-Hilal celebrated a 4-3 victory against Manchester City to switch to the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.

If a member of the European elite having returned by a team that had previously been little known on the world scene was what the competition needed, then that was all.

The city can indicate extenuating circumstances, but everything was not perfect in the Saudi camp either. Al-Hilal arrived in the United States at the rear of a long and disappointing season. After having dominated the SPL the previous year, establishing a sequence of remanent victories of 34 games along the way, the Giants of Riyadh were very second in the possible champions, Al-Ittihad.

Neymar left in January and there was a major frustration that the club did not sign someone with a stature similar to a replacement. Aleksandar Mitrovic, goalscorer of almost one goal per match since his arrival from Fulham, has been injured. Salem al-Dawsari, his best player, is also absent. Since last August, Al-Hilal has played almost the same number of games as City and was without coach for the last stages of the campaign, appointing Simone Inzaghi just before the start of the club World Cup.

Fans of the city rightly indicate a story before great money came from Abu Dhabi in 2008. The same goes for Al -Hilal before Riyadh’s public investment fund took the club – as well as the other three largest teams in the country – in the summer of 2023. They had been champions of Asia four times and Saudi Arabia 19, the two records. In addition, they reached the final of the 2022 club World Cup, losing 5-3 against Real Madrid after giving Chelsea a good match in the previous edition.

Al-Hilal has been shown, but they have certainly strengthened in the past two years. Yassine Bounou with the goal, defenders Kalidou Koulibaly and João Cancelo, as well as Rúben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the midfield, are good enough to shine in any league. Among the two teams, it should also be noted that the city has imported more. Phil Foden was the only Englishman to take the ground in Orlando for the Premier League team, while eight Saudis presented for the winners.

The victory has lowered in Asia since it was the first time that a team from the biggest continent in the world has been beating the best in this level. The success of Al-Hilal contrasts strongly with the performance of the other three teams from the Asian Football Confederation, which were all eliminated with a group of the group phase still to play.

Their combined record was a victory, eight defeats, six goals scored and 27 conceded. Al Ain won a victory but was beaten in their first two games. Urawa Reds of Japan has lost its three games. ULSAN HD – Accompanied by managers of all professional clubs in South Korea – came and came without anyone really noticing.

It was lamentable stuff and strengthened the concerns that the rest of the Asian club match lagged behind in Saudi Arabia, the professional league offering three of the four semi-finalists of the last Asian Champions League. Little in Riyadh will care about it, especially now al-Hilal has a path to the final of the Club World Cup and, perhaps, a revenge match with Madrid. They were courageous foreigners who participated in the meeting three years ago, just happy to play such an illustrious opponent. It wouldn’t be the case now.

Whatever happens, Al-Hilal will always have his victory over City. It recalls that the world game is really that. This could also mean that the next time a great player will exchange one of the big clubs in the big European leagues in Saudi Arabia, the conversation will be less greed, ambition and the rest, and a little more on the question of whether it can help to fill the gap with Europe, which does not appear as wide as the first thought.