Chelsea reach the World Cup final with a hard victory over Al Hilal
Chelsea beat Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia with difficulty (1-0), this evening, Wednesday, at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup held in the UAE.
The only goal for the European champions Chelsea came through Romelu Lukaku in the 32nd minute.
Chelsea is preparing to face the Brazilian Palmeiras in the final of the Club World Cup, while the leader will meet his brother Al-Ahly of Egypt in the match for third place.
first half
The two teams quickly entered the atmosphere of the match, where
had an attacking opportunity, but Ighalo rushed and shot recklessly away from the goal.
Then Chelsea controlled the ball and tried to penetrate Al Hilal’s defense, but the Saudi organization and determination prevented it.
Watch the goals of Al-Hilal and Chelsea in the Club World Cup
Chelsea defender Thiago Silva fired a powerful shot, but it passed well beyond Al-Mayouf’s goal.
The first dangerous opportunity to score came in the tenth minute, when Ziyech received a pass from his colleague Azpilicueta and hit a strong left-footed shot over the crescent crossbar.
And the offensive pressure continued for the European champion, but the defense of Al-Hilal, led by Ali Al Bulayhi and his guard, was on time.
Lukaku missed the opportunity to score the first goal in the 18th minute after a dangerous cross from the right side through Azpilicueta, to be followed by the Belgian on the near post, devoid of defensive oversight, and the ball passed strangely.
Al Hilal tried through quick counter-attacks, specifically through the left front through Yasser Al-Shahrani, Salem Al-Dossary, and Matthews Pereira, but Chelsea’s defense removed their dangerous crosses at the right time inside the penalty area.
The great offensive pressure from Chelsea resulted in scoring the first goal against Al Hilal after a cross from the left side of Haveritz inside the penalty area. Yasser Al-Shahrani tried to control it, but it took him long to reach Lukaku by mistake, facing the goal, to hit it easily in the Al-Malouf net, in the 32nd minute.
Salem Al-Dosari almost added the equalizing goal in the 36th minute, after he exchanged passes with Yasser Al-Shahrani, sprinted with speed, passed skillfully, and shot, but his powerful right-footed shot went wide of the goal.
Despite the attacking presence of Ziyech, Lukaku, and their companions in the remaining minutes, the defense and Al Hilal goalkeeper Abdullah Al Mayouf were stubborn and removed the danger, so that the first half ended with Chelsea’s superiority with a goal in return.
Second half
At first, the Chelsea coach made his first substitution by entering N’Golo Kante instead of Jorginho in the midfield area.