Three pundits were left with egg on their faces after they all confidently predicted Manchester City to beat Al-Hilal in the Club World Cup last-16 clash.
Pep Guardiola’s side were dumped out by their Saudi opponents in Orlando after a thrilling 4-3 game.
A trio working for DAZN in their TV studio had bullishly given their scoreline predictions ahead of kick-off.
Former Manchester City and Arsenal full-back Gael Clichy thought his old side would triumph 3-0 – anticipating that Simone Inzaghi’s men wouldn’t get on the scoresheet.
Newcastle striker Callum Wilson then agreed Al-Hilal would draw a blank, predicting City to win 2-0.
And Shay Given, who played in goal 50 times for City during his long career, simply said ‘too strong’ and went along with his colleagues.
Gael Clichy thought his old side would be comfortable victors but they were dumped out
Pep Guardiola’s men lost 4-3 and were eliminated from the Club World Cup by Al-Hilal
But their confidence in the former Premier League champions was misplaced. Al-Hilal tore City’s defence apart on multiple occasions.
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Erling Haaland appeared to pick up a thigh injury, while Rodri came on and then brought off on a chastening night for City.
Afterwards, Guardiola lamented the fact that the performance did not match up to the feeling among the group.
‘It’s too early to say but I saw many good things I didn’t see in the past,’ he said.
‘Especially the way we were, the relation between the players. It’s sad because I felt that we were happy here. The training sessions have been really good. It’s a pity, the vibes have been good.’
Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden came on later in the game and combined for a superb goal to make it 3-3 in extra time.
But then Marcos Leonardo bundled home in the 112th minute to give Al-Hilal the victory that sees them progress to the last eight.
