Despite Yassine Bounou’s brilliance, Al Hilal falls to Fluminense
Al Hilal’s journey in the FIFA Club World Cup came to an end after a 2-1 defeat to Brazilian side Fluminense in a match held on Friday evening at the “Camping World” stadium in the United States, as part of the Round of 16.
Fluminense opened the scoring in the 40th minute through Matheus Martinelli, who capitalized on a defensive error by Al Hilal. A cross into the penalty area was miscleared, allowing Gabriel Fuentes to pass it to Martinelli, who finished past Yassine Bounou.
Al Hilal managed to equalize in the 51st minute through Marcos Leonardo, who scored from a corner taken by Ruben Neves. The corner was met by Koulibaly’s powerful header, which reached Leonardo, who then found the back of the net.
Fluminense regained the lead in the 71st minute with a goal from Herclides Pereira, who unleashed a strong shot to the left of Yassine Bounou, who was unable to react in time.
Moroccan international Yassine Bounou started the match and delivered an outstanding performance. In the 55th minute, he made a crucial save after a catastrophic defensive error led the ball to Cano, who attempted to dribble past Bounou, but the keeper denied him unexpectedly, preventing Fluminense from scoring a second goal.
It is worth noting that Bounou had also excelled in Al Hilal’s victory over Manchester City in the Round of 16, winning the match 4-3.
Bounou recorded 10 saves against Manchester City, a feat that had never been achieved in this tournament’s current edition.
