The marathon match between Manchester City and Al Hilal had just finished. The Saudis had beaten Pep Guardiola’s men 4-3 in extra time following one of the best matches we’ve witnessed at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™. In the tunnel leading to the changing rooms you could hear the happiness, chanting and all the chaos.
“It’s the fans outside the stadium” said someone. Al Hilal’s supporters were certainly celebrating their historic win over Manchester City, but the noise also seemed to be coming from somewhere else. “Yes, we were shouting and celebrating in the changing room,” Sergej Milinkovic-Savic told FIFA. “It’s difficult to know what to do after a victory like this one this evening, the adrenaline is really high.”
While the whole team performed, the towering Serbian certainly laid down his marker. The midfielder was reunited with Simone Inzaghi earlier this month when the Italian, who had coached Milinkovic-Savic at Lazio, joined from FC Internazionale Milano. He helped turn him into the “fantastic player”, according to Guardiola, he is today, and the 30-year-old was clearly inspired by both coaches.
“It’s definitely great to receive these compliments from a manager like Guardiola,” he admitted. “Today we showed what level we’re on. I’m feeling great here, we’re training well and physically I’m feeling good. Simone Inzaghi has now arrived, who I know really well, so now we need to believe until the end.
“What we have done today is inexplicable. We played against one of the best teams in the world and this motivates us more for the next games. It’s a historic accomplishment for us, the club and the whole country. We believed for every single second and we’ve done it.”
From a technical point of view, Milinkovic-Savic has always stood out, but with Inzaghi he has further improved the tactical aspect of his game. The winning relationship that has come together again at Al Hilal has helped Inzaghi to immediately get his message across to the team about his ideas.
“I didn’t need to get to know Sergej. He is an extraordinary player who combines quality and quantity,” his coach stated. “This evening I think he ran a lot, just like all the other players. He, like [Kalidou] Koulibaly and Joao Cancelo, speak Italian, so they help my staff and me.”
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While plenty of the spotlight was on his old friend, Inzaghi was keen to stress that their victory wasn’t the result of a one-man effort.
“First of all I want to give my compliments to the team,” he said. “The players were magnificent tonight. It’s right to be happy in this moment, together with our club and our fantastic fans. I’m very happy with the work the team has put in and what the club has made available to us. That’s why I wanted to participate immediately at the (Club) World Cup, I wanted to get answers straight away and I got that quickly.
“I was celebrating with my staff and he [Guardiola] came over immediately to congratulate us and shake my hand. There is a lot of respect between us. In football you win some and you lose some, but to receive compliments from him is always really nice”.
Al Hilal will remain in Orlando to face Fluminense FC in the Club World Cup quarter-finals, with both sides ready to write a new page in their international history.
