Chelsea vs Al Hilal LIVE: Club World Cup result, final score and reaction tonight
Follow live updates as the European champions kick off their campaign at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium
Chelsea reach the final of the Club World Cup, as predicted, but just not in a manner they would have expected.
The European champions were made to work embarrassingly hard against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal for an underwhelming 1-0 victory, secured by Romelu Lukaku. The fact the striker had again scored - his first in a month and only his second in 2022 so far, the other against Chesterfield - was one of the few positives, but the game mostly showed why Chelsea had at one point considered Al Hilal manager Leonardo Jardim as a potential candidate for the Stamford Bridge hotseat.
There remain some concerns for the team, as the absence of Thomas Tuchel again brought an absence of any kind of conviction against very moderate opponents.
Al Hilal almost followed League One’s Plymouth Argyle in forcing Chelsea to extra-time in successive games, and it might have been even worse had it not been for the inspired form of Kepa Arrizabalaga. One of his stops was brilliant, particularly as he was unsighted. Chelsea’s problems were all too visible. They still look so disconnected in attack - and that despite the return of Kai Havertz - but now that bit looser in defence.
Whether that is just down to the simple effect of the manager again not being there, having had a positive Covid test, remains to be seen. There is some optimism he may return here for Saturday’s final, in the same stadium. Follow analysis and reaction to the match below:
Romelu Lukaku ends month-long drought to send sloppy Chelsea into Club World Cup final
Chelsea coaches at Club World Cup ‘constantly in contact’ with Covid-stricken Thomas Tuchel
Reece James heads to Abu Dhabi with Chelsea as they prepare for Club World Cup
‘We have to make the most of it’: Cesar Azpilicueta urges Chelsea to take chance at Club World Cup
Club World Cup: Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
There’s new technology being trialed in this edition of the Club World Cup. Limb-tracking offside technology is being used in Abu Dhabi.
The semi-automated offside technology was first tested during the FIFA Arab Cup in Doha late last year. Limb-tracking technology relies on a dedicated camera system - installed under the roof of the stadium - that captures the movement of all the players and the ball.
Up to 29 data points per player are provided, and they make up each player’s animated skeleton to judge which part of the body is furthest forward.
The limb-tracking data extracted from the video is then sent to the operations rooms, and the calculated offside line and the moment the ball was kicked is provided to the replay operator in almost real-time.
VAR officials will then receive an almost instant alert telling them whether the technology determines a player is offside or not. The VAR will then validate the decision before relaying it to the on field referee.
Club World Cup: Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
Like Chelsea, Al-Hilal are making their second appearance in the Club World Cup following their debut in Qatar in 2019.
On that occasion, the Saudi side made it past the second round with a 1-0 win over African champions Esperance of Tunisia and led at half-time against Libertadores champions Flamengo in the semi-finals before the Brazilian club hit back after the interval to win 3-1.
Al-Hilal eventually finished fourth after losing a penalty shoot-out to Mexican outfit Monterrey in the third-place match following a 2-2 draw.
Club World Cup: Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
Mateo Kovacic spoke about his previous appearances in the Club World Cup and just how difficult it is to qualify for this competition. He said:
I’ve had the luck to be involved in two Club World Cups already and it’s a nice experience because it’s not easy to come here. You have to win the Champions League, which is the most difficult competition,
“So this is always an important competition and a nice one, to come here where it’s nice weather, but we need to concentrate on our job, which is to play a good semi-final. Then, hopefully, we can look forward, but first the most important thing is to win the first game in this competition.”
Club World Cup: Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
Mateo Kovacic is the only Chelsea to have previously won the Club World Cup having done so twice with Real Madrid in 2016 and 2017.
Club World Cup: Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
The Club World Cup is competed between the champions of each of the six continental confederations plus the league winner from the host nation.
Since the competition started in 2000 there have only been two winners from England – Manchester United in 2008 and Liverpool in 2019.
Club World Cup: Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
Nine of Al-Hilal’s players were recently called up for Saudi Arabia in the World Cup qualifiers and their international contingent includes Peru striker Andre Carrillo, Mali forward Moussa Marega, Colombia midfielder Gustavo Cuella and South Korea defender Jan Hyun-Soo.
Two of their other imports may be familiar to Chelsea supporters. Brazilian attacking midfielder Matheus Pereira scored twice in West Bromwich Albion’s shock 5-2 win at Stamford Bridge last season while Nigerian forward Odion Ighalo, who joined the club last week from their Riyadh rivals Al Shabab, played in Premier League games against the Blues for Watford and Manchester United.
Club World Cup: Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
Chelsea assistant manager Zsolt Low spoke about the attacking threats of Al-Hilal and says that Chelsea’s first priority is to stop the strikers playing their own game and take the attack to the Asian champions. He said:
We know about Al Hilal from Sunday, we watched the game live with the coaching staff. We could see two very good teams with a lot of quality. Al Jazira made it 1-0 and then Al Hilal came in better and better during the game and by the end of the game it was a big win for them. We see their quality in a lot of games, in a lot of video sessions and also on Sunday.
We have played against a lot of their players in different situations. There is Marega who we know from Porto, when we played against Porto two times in the Champions League and he played against us.
“We know also Carrillo from when he was at Watford in England. They have very good quality up front, they score a lot of goals, as we saw in their game on Sunday. Al Hilal is a very good team and we expect a difficult game.
“Al Hilal has a very good offensive four, leading with Pereira, who we know also very well from his time with West Brom. He scored two goals against us I think while we have been coaching at Chelsea, he’s a very good offensive player and a no.10. But also all the offensive guys, Ighalo, Marega, it is a very dangerous front four or five.
“We will need very good defensive work to stop them and not allow them chances or goals. We are all the time able to score goals in games, but first we have to stop their strikers.”
Club World Cup: Al-Hilal vs Chelsea
Since the competition changed to its current format in 200, 11 of the last 16 Club World Cup finals have been contested between the South American and European champions.
Also the Uefa Champions League winners have made it to the final of the Club World Cup in 16 of the last 17 editions of the tournament.
Club World Cup: How to watch Al-Hilal vs Chelsea fixture online and on TV today
European champions Chelsea face Asian champions Al Hilal in the semi-finals of the Fifa Club World Cup this afternoon, with a place in the Sunday’s final up for grabs in the United Arab Emirates.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of today’s match.
How to watch Chelsea vs Al Hilal online and on TV today
Everything you need to know ahead of the Club World Cup semi-final
Club World Cup: Chelsea opponents
Chelsea’s semi-final opponents this evening, Al Hilal, have enjoyed plenty of success since their formation in 1957, winning 50 domestic trophies including a record 17 Saudi Professional League titles and a number of Arab regional competitions.
They have been crowned champions of Asia a record four times following their victories in the Asian Club Championship in 1991 and 2000 and the AFC Champions League in 2019 and 2021.
The Riyadh club could have won three consecutive Asian titles but their 2020 campaign was curtailed when a Covid-19 outbreak in their squad before their final group game forced them to withdraw from the competition.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments