Flamengo beat Al Hilal to head into Club World Cup final
Flamengo vs Al Hilal: as it happened
Flamengo will contest the final of the Club World Cup against either Liverpool or Monterrey after coming from behind to defeat Al Hilal in the Khalifa International Stadium on Tuesday in the opening semi-final.
Second half goals from Giorgian De Arrascaeta (48), Bruno Henrique (77) and an effort turned past his own keeper by Al Hilal defender Ali Al Bulaihi were enough to cancel out Salem Al Dawsari's opener, and a late red for André Carrillo all but extinguished any hopes the Saudi side harboured of a late response.
And that's the whistle! Flamengo come from behind to win 3-1 and will await either Liverpool or Monterrey in Saturday's final!
Da Motta on, De Arrascaeta off.
Jesus is preparing a chance as well to gobble up a few precious seconds.
Three minutes added as Gomis heads off.
They're not goiving up though as Carlos Eduardo bursts through and places a shot across goal instead of into it.
Time running out for Al Hilal now, hot on the heels of their luck.
Sub Omar at least hits the target, allowing Alves to do a Hollywood save for the attendant cameras.
Chance for Al Hilal to make this interesting...
Diego in the book for a chop on Nawaf Al Abed.
Five minutes of utter mayhem and Al Hilal have properly shot themselves in the foot. The own goal was unfortunate, that red was suicidial.
And it goes from bad to worse as Carrillo, Al Hilal's greatest threat, gets his marching orders. That was a horrible challenge, full of intent and the ref has no hesitation in reading the number 19 his fortune.
Goooooooooool! It's probably irrelevant now as Henrique's Gabigol-bound cross is turned in by Al Bulaihi! How unfortunate for the Al Hilal man, who has a decent game otherwise.
Glancing at Al Hilal's bench, it's hard to see a potential game changer there, unlike Diego for Flamengo, who has brought hs customary calm to the midfield.
That leaves Al Hilal, who have looked a little short of ideas in the second half, with 10 minutes to find an equaliser.
The Brazilian meets a pinpoint Rafinha cross and buries an unstoppable header past Al-Mayouf to hand Flamengo the lead!
De Arrascaeta! Another lovely passing move from Flamengo deserved better than the finish applied by the Uruguayan, whose tame shot doesn't trouble Al-Mayouf.
Diego Ribas coming on for Flamengo, Gerson the man to make way.
Gomis almost latches onto a through ball but is hustled off it by Pablo Marí.
Change for Al Hilal as Giovinco heads off for Syria forward Omar Kharbin.
Lots of jostling, posturing and silliness in the wall and Salem earns a booking. Giovinco then misses the wall, and the goal, entirely with a poor effort.
In the meantime Al Hilal have a promising looking free kick... Giovinco eyeing it up.
Good defending from goal scorer Salem to keep Rafinha at bay. Jorge Jesus is in deep discussion with his number two and we may see a change in a minute.
An offside decision against Éverton Ribeiro gives both sides the chance for a short breather.
Unfortunate for Al Hilal there as Carlos Eduardo's through ball clips Carrillo's heel.
25 in total, we're told.
De Arrascaeta floors Al-Breik. God knows what the foul count is up to now.
It's started to get a bit scrappy and a bit snarky in midfield now and the chances of both sides finishing this with ten men look pretty remote. This time its Carrillo and Filipe who get into a tangle, the Peruvian waving an elbow towards the former Atlético man's face, who wisely decides to ignore it.
A fine tackle from Jang, who has been quietly efficient, prevents De Arrascaeta from a run through on goal.
Incredibly, and luckily for the Italian, the ref decides it was 50-50...
And it looks like we may have a VAR intervention as Giovinco goes in studs up and this could be marching orders for the Italian. That was a terrible challenge...
De Arrascaeta delivers it to the far post and it's cleared as far as Filipe Luis and his shot is wild and wide.
Corrner to Flamengo, five each now...
Some nice hold-up play from Gomis and a bit of hesitation in the Flamengo back line leaves Carrillo with a free swing, but his shot is high and not too handsome.
Bit of a mix-up between Salem, who thought he had put Giovinco clean through, and the Italian, who had failed to read the intent and checked his run.
Gabigol! The Brazilian appeared to be ahalf a mile offside when he got that shot off and, as it eventually turned out, he was. Late flag from the lino but a decent save from Al-Mayouf anyway.
That is exactly the tonic Flamengo needed! An early goal to sow the seeds of doubt into Al Hilal's game plan.
Goooooooooooool! De Arrascaeta! What a glorious, sweeping move from Flamengo. Three first time passes and the Uruguayan strokes home from close range!
Gabigol whips in a cross towards Bruno Henrique but Al-Mayouf smothers the danger.
Filipe Luis concedes a throw right in the corner but Al Hilal fail to take advantage of it.
And we're back underway!
The teams are back out on the pitch for the start of the second half...
The number of balls lost in midfield, 59 apiece, tells its own story about the first half. Flamengo bossing possession but Al Hilal perhaps more incisive in the final third.
- 0
- 15
- 30
- 45
- 60
- 75
- 90
- 60%40%
- 29%70%
- 68%31%
- 41%58%
- 86%13%
- 75%24%
- 71%28%
- 51%48%
- 72%27%
As things stand, Lucescu won't be making any changes until he absolutely has to.
Jesus has a forward in Berrio on the bench, as well as striker Lincoln, Diego Ribas and young prospect Reinier...
The cat is firmly among the pigeons in Doha... Flamengo were expected to walk this and Jorge Jesus has some thinking to do at half time. The Saudis have been dangerous on the break and other than that early corner fairly confident in their defending. The Brazilians will have to go for it after the break and that will leave plenty of space for Carrillo to belt into.
Flamengo rather waste a potentially dangerous free kick, taking quickly and lofting it to the far post. But it was delivered in such a way that Henrique could get no power on his header and Al-Mayouf gathers, drops to the floor and the whistle goes! Al Hilal take a valuable and surprise lead into the break.
And again! This time it's Al Bulaihi and he's lucky it wasn't red for an awful challenge from behind on Gabigol.
The ref is into his top pocket again, this time to book Pablo Marí for hauling down Carlos Eduardo.
Three minutes added at the end of the first half...
Giovinco then goes in the book for a cynical challenge on De Arrascaeta, who was on the break for Flamengo.
It's Giovinco in the end and the Italian almost lands it plum on Gomis' head but Al-Breik is there to clear in extremis.
Another swift break from Al Hilal sows panic in the Flemango back line and they just about hack it out for a corner. Carrillo to take...
Carrillo is terrorising the Flamengo defence with his speed and almost tees up a decent chance but the support isn't there.
Filipe Luis plays a long ball but it's straight into the paws of Diego Alves, the former purveyor of penalty saves at Valencia. The Brazilians will feel pretty confident if it goes that far with him between the sticks.
Al Hilal almost work sometihng in the area, Gomis finding Giovinco, but the Italian is closed down before he can pull the trigger.
Willian Arão is given a little talking to by the ref after flattening Salem, the match official raising two fingers to indicate that the next will be a yellow.
The delivery is lacking again though and easily cleared. Gerson hauls down his compatriot Carlos Eduardo to prevent an Al Hilal break, but avoids the ref's top pocket.
It's taken short, Carrillo concedes a free kick and Flamengo have a real chance here from close range on the right...
Gustavo Cuéllar this sime with the vital intervention and Flamengo have another corner...
The Brazilians are in all sorts of bother at the back at the moment. Al Hilal are looking to add to their opener and look quite capable fo doing so.
Carrillo launches another Al Hilal attack and Flamengo are carved wide open! The Saudi siude can't capitalise though.
What a tackle! Al-Breik turns on the afterburners to catch Henrique in the area and times his challenge to perfection. Excellent, excellent defending.
Still all Flamengo at the moment, the Brazilians stroking it about looking for an opening. Al Hilal are holding firm though.
Flamengo turning the screw now. Gabigol hoists one up to the far stick and two Flamengo players get in a tangle going for the same ball. The rebound falls to Gerson but he can't squeeze a shot off.
Salem is back on, so that' not his lot for this afternoon yet.
Great defending from Al Hilal as a De Arrascaeta cross is aimed at the unattended Gabigol at the far post. The Saudi side are backing up that surprise lead with some new found defensive solidity.
Flamengo pushing while they hold the brief numerical advantage...
Salem off as play continues. Al Hilal temporarily down to 10 men...
There's a pause as Salem gets treatment. He's sitting up and getting the how many fingers treatment, while the doc also has a look in his mouth. Wouldn't be surprised if he's got a loose tooth after that...
Ouch! Yasser Al-Shahrani has practically knocked his own teammate Salem out! What a collision! Hopefully the midfielder will be ok....
Bruno Henrique goes into the book for an awful challenge on Al Bulaihi. A little bit of frustration creeping in there.
The Al Hilal midfielder steals into the area and meets a clever pull back, then plants a shot into the glove of Alves, who can't hold it! Al Hilal have taken the lead and Jorge Jesus can't quite believe it!
End to end stuff so far in Doha...
Gabigol gets a sniff at the other end but blasts wide.
Gomis! A "ground open up please" moment for the Frenchman. A fine save from Diego Alves falls right at the feet of the striker and he skies it! An awful miss!
Abdullah Al-Mayouf comes for it and punches clear, but only as far as Gerson, whose first time shot isn't far off!
Corner for the Brazilians as Jang blocks Filipe's cross.
Jorge Jesus is not a happy man on the touchline. Al Hilal are perhaps a more tasty opponent than he had expected. They've looked dangerous going forward, but equally shaky at the back.
That comes to nothing though and now it's Flamengos' turn... throw out on the right but Rafinha is flagged by the lino.
It's a training ground job and it almost works perfectly! Salem is slipped in but his forst touch lets him down slightly and cuts his angle. He gets a shot off though and Al Hilal have a corner.
Pablo Marí concedes a free in a very dangerous area... Giovinco likes the look of this.
It's turning into a nice open game in midfield, plenty of nice flicks and tricks. A few blows, but nothing to really rock either keeper yet.
Giovinco this time but it's a poor delivery from the Italian. Goal kick.
Carrillo whips in a beauty and it's cleared off the head off Gomis! Another corner...
Al Hilal make their first foray into enemy territory and Yasser Al-Shahrani wins a corner...
Gabigol almost sneaks through on the halfway line but a hooked clearance from Al Bulaihi thwarts the Brazilian striker.
It's a wicked delivery across the box and Gabigol is a whisker away from connecting, but the ball bounces harmlessly out on the far side. Not great defending there from Al Hilal, which will have been noted by Jorge Jesus.
Corner to the Brazilians...
Filipe Luis gets himself into a spot of bother in midfield but the former Atlético man manages to dig his way out of it and Flamengo retain possession. Al Hilal not looking too advanturous in the early exchanges...
We're off! Flamengo get us underway in Doha!
The formalities are ongoing, the handhakes out of the way, the captains posing with the little banner things (what do they do with all of those?) and we're a couple of minutes from kick-off!
OK, we have teams in the tunnels and we're about to get underway in Doha!
However, Flamengo did win the Libertadores in 1981 and thus contested the Intercontinental Cup against Liverpool, beating the European champions 3-0 in the one-off game in Tokyo. There could be a rematch on Saturday...
The Saudi side are making their first appearance at the tournament, while Flamengo are also debutants at the Club World Cup.
Ah, here we go! Flamengo's starting XI.Gabigol will lead the line, fresh from leading the Mengão to a dramatic Copa Libertadores victory against River Plate, which secured Flamengo's place at the Club World Cup.
Meanwhile, Xavi's Al Sadd were handed their backsides on a plate in the match for fifth place, with Espérance de Tunis running out 6-2 winners in today's aperitif.
Al Hilal have announced their starting XI for the game. Razvan Lucescu has opted to play Giovinco, Carrillo and Gomis, the scorer of the only goal of the game in the second round win over Espérance de Tunis, up front together.
Jürgen Klopp insisted in his pre-match press conference that the CWC is the most important competition for Liverpool at the moment, but disputed the timing of the tournament. No such problems for Flamengo, who wrapped up their sixth Campeonato Brasileiro Série A just before jetting off for Doha.
The prize for the winner of this afternoon's game is a place in the showpiece on Saturday against either Liverpool or Monterrey.
Hello and welcome to AS English's live coverage of the 2019 Club World Cup semi-final between Flamengo and Al Hilal from the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. Kick-off is at 18:30 CET. You can check here to see what time the game kicks off where you are.