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Doha
Super-sub Bafetimbi Gomis sent FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 debutants Al Hilal into the Qatar 2019 semi-finals as his all-important goal saw off Esperance Sportive de Tunis at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Saturday.
A keenly-contested encounter between Asia and Africa’s top sides was settled when the French, and Swansea, striker produced a sublime moment of skill and cool finish in the 73rd minute to silence a rocking stadium.
Such was Gomis’ calmness inside the box, that he was well aware of a defender rushing in as he waited and coolly kicked the ball over his head before shaping up again to make his successful and resounding strike.
The pair had been evenly matched from the outset in a frenetic and lively clash. ES Tunis’s Anice Badri was the first to come close, firing just wide, before Al Hilal ended the opening period the stronger as Andre Carrillo’s effort needed both Moez Ben Charifia and Mohamed Yakoubi to keep it out.
The Saudi side’s keeper Abdullah Almuaiouf had to be on high alert when full-back Yasser Alshahrani almost scored a comical looping own goal – producing a clawing save that set them on the way to victory.
Having been benched as a precautionary measure, Gomis took just eight minutes to produce a magical winner. Rolling off the shoulder of the backline, he conjured a masterful flick to deceive the sliding defender before slotting into the bottom corner.
Mohammed Kanno saw red late on in the 85th minute, but the win tees up a meeting with South American big guns Flamengo on Tuesday.
Al Hilal’s Andre Carrillo was named as Alibaba Cloud Match Award winner.
Thrilled Al Hilal fans continued celebrating the win till much later after the match and could be seen rejoicing outside the stadium.
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15/12/2019
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