Club World Cup: Flamengo suffers but holds the consolation prize

A little before the expected end in real Madrid and the Arab team al hilal directed by the Argentinian Ramón Díaz, flamenco he took the consolation prize by winning the third-place match in the Club World Cup. It was 4-2 y Al Ahly from Cairo to the Moulay Abdellah stadium in the city of Raba.

Doubles from Gabigol and Pedro prevented a major blush for Flamengo, initially intended to aim for the title and condemned to a consolation match which they won by the talent of its players, superior to the Egyptian enthusiasm who dominated the scoreboard for many minutes.

The Brazilian representative on which South American football had pinned its hopes to regain dominance in the Club World Cup, fails in the semifinals. At times he seemed to be able to accentuate his bad role in Morocco, even if he managed to straighten out the clash with Al Ahly to take, at least, third place.

It was enough for him to press in the final stretch, when he had the result against him, against a ten-man rival for Khaled Abdulfattah to be sent off in the 69th minute, still ahead on the scoreboard. Both at that moment and in other moments, the performance of the VAR was fundamental.

Without stepping on the accelerator, Flamengo already took the lead before ten minutes thanks to a penalty for a foul by Ali Maaloul in the box that Gabriel Barbosa converted into a goal.

But Al Ahly reacted, more motivated than his rival. Looking for a reputational triumph, he managed to equalize from an Ali Maaloul corner that Ahmed Abdelkader headed in.

The match was encouraged in the second half, in which everything was. The Egyptian team managed to take the lead in the 56th minute, with a penalty committed on Mohamed Sherif. Ali Maaloul fired it but it was saved by goalkeeper Aderbar Santos.

However, Al Ahly did not sink, and four later made the second, in a great individual play by Ahmed Abdelkader who dodged several rivals and scored the second for the Cairo team. A goal.

Flamengo had to wake up and found their reward for inertia, against one opponent less, and thanks to the penalty spot. In the 67th minute, due to a foul by Abdulfatah on Ayrton Lucas on the edge of the area, the African was sent off. And then, Pedro took advantage of a bad start from goalkeeper El Shenawy to score into an empty net and establish the tie.

Only the Al Ahly sank. A handball by Hamdi Fathi detected by the VAR gave Flamengo the lead. Gabigol’s penalty is not wrong.

And already with Marcel Koller’s team sunk and inferior, Pedro, once again taking advantage of a gift from the last rival defensive line, rounds off the only Brazilian victory in Morocco.