Al-Ittihad’s Karim Benzema failed to score a penalty, resulting in their elimination from the Club World Cup by Al-Ahly from Egypt. Al-Ahly easily won the match 3-1 in Jeddah.
In the 21st minute, Al-Ahly scored the first goal of the match with a penalty kick due to a handball by Al-Ittihad defender Hassan Kadesh. Ali Maâloul, the left-back, successfully converted the penalty. Shortly after, Al-Ittihad also received a penalty for handball, but Benzema was unable to score as Mohamed El Shenawy made a spectacular save.
The team led by Marcelo Gallardo fell even further behind after Hussein El Shahat received a pass from Kahraba and skillfully placed the ball into the net shortly before the 60-minute mark. Kahraba then assisted Emam Ashour in scoring the third goal through a swift counterattack.
Benzema managed to score a goal in the final moments of the game, providing a small sense of comfort, right after Al-Ahly’s substitute Anthony Modeste was ejected from the game. Al-Ahly will now be going up against Fluminense, the winners of Copa Libertadores, in the semi-finals on Monday.
Al-Ittihad, who earned a place in the Saudi-hosted tournament as the national champions, were well beaten despite including Benzema, N’Golo Kanté and Fabinho in their lineup. The big-spending side are fourth in the Saudi league, 19 points behind runaway leaders Al-Hilal.
On Tuesday, Manchester City will kick off their participation in the Club World Cup against Urawa Red Diamonds, the reigning champions of the Asian Champions League. The Japanese team defeated Léon, the winners of the Concacaf title, on Friday with a lone goal from Dutch forward Alex Schalk.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed uncertainty about the physical readiness of both Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne for the upcoming match against the reigning European champions. The team is set to travel to Saudi Arabia for the game. If they are successful in their match on Tuesday, they will advance to the final, which will take place on the following Friday.
Juve fails to take the opportunity to claim first place after drawing with Genoa.
Federico Chiesa scored a penalty in the first half for Juventus, but they were unable to secure a win as Genoa’s Albert Gudmundsson equalized in the second half, resulting in a 1-1 draw in Serie A.
Allegri’s team, led by Massimiliano Allegri, scored the first goal in the 28th minute with Chiesa confidently converting a penalty kick. The Genoa goalkeeper, Josep Martínez, had brought down Chiesa in the box. The home team equalized in the second half, only three minutes into it, with Gudmundsson finding the back of the net after a well-executed passing play.
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The visitors came close to a last-minute winner but Martínez made a brilliant save to keep out Bremer’s close-range effort after a corner. Juve stay in second place and are now a point behind leaders Internazionale, who visit Lazio on Sunday.
Lyon rose from the bottom of the Ligue 1 standings with a surprising victory against third-ranked Monaco. Jeffinho secured the late winning goal off of Ainsley Maitland-Niles’s pass, putting an end to Monaco’s undefeated streak at home and causing the hosts to regret their numerous missed opportunities.
Borussia Mönchengladbach extended their unbeaten streak to seven games at home in all competitions. However, they were unable to secure a win in their mid-table Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. Rocco Reitz scored two goals for the home team, but Marvin Ducksch’s late strike earned Werder a point.
In Spain, Osasuna moved up the rankings to avoid trouble, thanks to Raúl García’s winning goal in the late stages of their match against Rayo Vallecano at home. García scored with a header in the 95th minute, securing his team’s second victory at home this season, while Rayo’s streak without a win has now reached seven games.
Source: theguardian.com
