Palmeiras beat Al Ahly 2-0 to charge into the FIFA Club World Cup final
Raphael Veiga and the magnificent Dudu scored the goals
Palmeiras will play Al Hilal or Chelsea in Saturday’s final
Palmeiras 2-0 Al Ahly
Goals: Goals: Raphael Veiga (39), Dudu (49).
Alibaba Cloud Match Award
Raphael Veiga (Palmeiras).
Moments
Deafening The bringing together of two of the most fanatical fan bases on planet blue was guaranteed to rocket the decibel levels, and green trumped red on that front. Though the Al Ahly supporters were habitually loud, their Palmeiras counterparts were ear-splitting from the outset. The unfastening flick Al Ahly looked impenetrable until unlocked by some glorious genius. From Danilo’s pass, Dudu, back to goal, executed a delicious, first-time flick to send Raphael Veiga through on goal, and the latter slotted it home with aplomb. Thunderbolt Piquerez, Rony and Veiga combined nicely to free Dudu. With unwavering focus, the club legend got his head down and accelerated into the penalty area before unleashing a thunderous strike that was too hot for goalkeeper Aly Lotfy to keep out.
The quote
“Veiga’s goal was huge. Sometimes in games like this, in a Club World Cup, you’re not going to get many chances. It was tight and we needed that goal. It was a great play from us. Dudu’s assist was magical. Dudu is a genius.” Danilo
Stats
219 It took 219 minutes for Veiga to score Palmeiras’s first goal in the FIFA Club World Cup. They had drawn blanks in both their previous matches in the competition at Qatar 2020. 17 Al Ahly extended their record for the most matches played at the tournament to 17. Auckland City are next on 15.
Up next
Match for fifth place Monterrey-Al Jazira Al Nahyan Stadium on Wednesday, 5:30pm local time Semi-final Al Hilal-Chelsea Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Wednesday, 8:30pm local time
