Palmeiras (left) promises to continue to create surprises - Photo: Reuters
If it was at the beginning of the tournament, fans might have overlooked such matches. But at this point, these are the matches that truly promise a "football feast".
Before the ball rolled, few people could believe that Al Hilal would defeat Man City with a score of 4-3. A true classic match. Al Hilal not only created an earthquake, they also won in a worthy, spectacular and beautiful way. Under normal circumstances, fans would only believe that the Saudi Arabian giants would focus on playing tight defense and hope to bring the match to a penalty shootout. But coach Simone Inzaghi and his team did not think so.
Still a defensive counter-attacking game, Al Hilal turned their match with Man City into a real football feast. That match could be compared to Inter Milan's spectacular victory over Barca in the Champions League semi-finals last season. And coach Inzaghi was the winner again. Al Hilal's "pre-match change" helped them fly high again. Right after the end of the season, the Italian strategist left Inter Milan for Al Hilal. And he had barely a few days to get acquainted with the new team.
In theory, after overcoming Man City, Al Hilal became a candidate for the championship, especially when their opponent in the quarter-finals was only Fluminense - the team considered the weakest in the top 8. But with what happened in the US this summer, it shows that no one can be subjective. On the way to the quarter-finals, Fluminense held Dortmund to a draw and defeated Inter Milan - coach Inzaghi's old team.
In the match that followed, Palmeiras posed an equally formidable threat to Chelsea. Of the South American teams in the tournament, Palmeiras were the most valuable - 257 million euros in the transfer market. And they were also considered the strongest.
Not in the same group as the European teams, Palmeiras were relatively unspectacular in the group stage. They even narrowly escaped a 2-0 defeat to Inter Miami in their final match before coming back to equalise. But in the round of 16, Palmeiras showed their worth by beating Botafogo - who shocked PSG with a win.
Palmeiras' strength is still largely unknown at this point. They have not played very well in attack and seem to want to save their energy for the draw with Inter Miami. When facing Botafogo, both teams did not show much because they know each other too well.
But Chelsea, more than anyone, understands the danger of Brazilian teams, having lost to Flamengo in the group stage. Surprises are therefore waiting in the quarter-finals.
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HUY DANG
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cho-mot-buoi-sang-tung-bung-o-tu-ket-fifa-club-world-cup-2025-202507040846171.htm
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