FIFA Club World Cup: A Retrospective on Goal-filled, Thrilling Quarterfinal Clashes as Dortmund, Bayern Crash Out

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And then there were four.

A long list of clubs that started the tournament three weeks ago, whittled down to just four, and as everyone expected, the European teams dominate the semis, taking up three of the four slots, and are already assured of at least one team in the final.

Bayern and Dortmund crashed out in spectacular fashion while Al-Hilal and Palmeiras were rather gently urged out of the door.

How did the quarterfinals pan out and how well did my predictions go? Let’s dive in and look:

Fluminense 2 Al-Hilal 1 - Brazilians Fairy Tale Continues

I predicted the reverse - that Al-Hilal would win 2-1, but still glad that Fluminense went through. 

The tie started out with both teams cautious, leading to an uneventful opening few minutes when none of the teams threw any punches, not unlike the Botafogo and Palmeiras last 16 clash.

Matheus Martinelli changed things five minutes before the break though, when he cut inside and unleashed a fierce drive past Al-Hilal keeper Yassin Bounou. Finally, something to take the edge off a tense and somber afternoon.

Al-Hilal defender, Kalidou Koulibaly almost equalized with a thumping header from a  Ruben Neves free-kick but Fluminense keeper, Fabio, pulled off a stunning save to preserve the Brazilian side’s lead.

But Al-Hilal emerged from the tunnel after the break with renewed energy and equalized six minutes into the second half, Koulibaly once again meeting Ruben Neves free-kick and this time heading it down for Marcus Leonardo to poke it home.

But Fluminense struck immediately, before even Al-Hilal fans had put their butts back to the seats after the celebrations, with Hercules, Fluminense’s supersub, hitting a precise strike past Bounou for 2-1 to send the Brazilians to the semis.

Palmeiras 1 Chelsea 2 - No More Blues for Estevao

Estevao ruined what would have been a nailed-on prediction for me as I had predicted a 2-0 Chelsea victory, but you know what, with a goal like that, I am don't mind because that was a strike that belongs to a painting.

Chelsea began the livelier of the two. Despite missing key defensive stalwarts in Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, they still controlled possession and threatened a lot through Palmer and Pedro Neto. The aforementioned Cole Palmer was an absolute thorn in Palmeira’s defense, taking up dangerous pockets of spaces around Palmeira’s edge of the penalty box and looking to turn and shoot or feed a teammate into the penalty box.

And it was from here that he struck first. In the 16^th minute, he received a well-paced through ball from Trevor Chalobah with a filthy half turn, glided past three pairs of desperate Palmeira’s defending legs and dispatched an arrowed finish into the bottom corner.

Despite this dominance, though, Chelsea was wasteful in front of goal, which has been a highlight of this World Cup to be fair. Had they been a bit more clinical, they would be among the top scorers.

Palmeiras, who were missing their own defensive kingpins in Gustavo Gomes, Joaquin Piqueres and Murilo, struggled to contain Chelsea’s blurring attacking moves, but used the half time break to re-strategize and regroup - to good effect.

Bruno Fuchs headed narrowly wide from a corner, before Estevao, who has had a fairly quite World Cup, worked his magic to equalize for Palmeiras with a goal that surely will be a contender for goal of the tournament. The 18-year-old wonderkid glided past Levi Colwill like he was made of stone and smashed an unsavable, unstoppable shot that Robert Sanchez had no chance as it flew over his head, hit the crossbar, then the far post, before bouncing across the line.

But Chelsea ensured that Palmeiras didn’t have any ideas with a second shortly after. Malo Gusto found some space down the left and his attempted cross was deflected by Weverton into his own net, bouncing off the keeper’s back on its way in.

And with that goal, Chelsea denied us a potential all-Brazilian semi-final clash and booked their place in the semis against giant-slaying Fluminense in New York.

PSG 2 Bayern 0 - Red-Hot Clash Ends as Expected - with PSG Winning

Let me begin this section by wishing Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala a quick recovery from his horror ankle injury.

I had predicted a 3-2 win for PSG but that was my bad for thinking that Bayern would find a way through the wall that is Donnaruma.

The match itself served up quality in bountiful as expected, as both teams displayed precise short-passing dynamics, devastating counter attacking speed and suffocating high press. PSG, especially, were relentless, and did not give Bayern even an inch of breathing space, no matter where they were on the pitch.

Barcola, Kvara, Doue and then later on, Dembele, all took turns pressing the life out of Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, ensuring that Bayern did not settle in possession, even when they passed it back to Neuer for some pressure relief. In that first half, PSG recovered the ball within 19 seconds, against Bayern’s 33 seconds. Talk about a choking press.

That, however, did nothing to stop Bayern from dominating the first half and being the more threatening. But, while they were threatening, they never exactly backed PSG on the ropes. Instead, they dominated the midfield, where Pavlovic, Kimmich and Musiala combined well with the lively Stanisic to create numerical superiorities against PSG’s Vitinha, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz and give Coman room to cause problems.

While Bayern threatened, though, especially through widemen Kingley Coman and Michael Olise, it was PSG who looked the likelier of the two to score.

Doue shot just wide of Bayern's goal two minutes in and Khvicha Kvaratskelia could only find the side netting for PSG after being put through by Achraf Hakini. 

Manuel Neuer denied Kvaratskelia once again, when the Georgian had beaten Upamecano down Bayern’s right, but Neuer spread himself well to deny him not once, but twice. Michael Olise forced a great save from Gianluigi Donnarumma with a powerful drive on the other end while Upamecano then headed home from a Kimmich free kick but was offside. Kane then headed inches over before the break.

The tense but entertaining half ended on a sad note as Musiala got a nasty injury as he chased a ball back into the PSG area. He collided with Donnaruma and twisted his ankle and had to be stretchered off the field in a foot brace. Shortly before the injury though, Musiala had come close to scoring, missing the ball by a hair's breadth from a Pavlovic flat pass into the area.

The second half was uneventful, but PSG continued looking the likelier to score, with Barcola forcing a great save from Neuer in the 48th minute after being put through by Kvaratskelia.  Neuer then almost gifted PSG a goal when he dallied on the ball and allowed Kvara and Dembele to close him down, ending with Dembele shooting wide with the goal gaping.

Finally, in the 78^th minute, it happened. Kane lost possession in what should have been a quick counterattack for Bayern, holding onto the ball for too long and allowing PSG’s Joao Neves to nick the ball off him and launch a PSG attack that ended with Desire Doue firing into the corner from the edge of the area.

Shortly, though PSG were reduced to 10 after William Pacho was sent off for a reckless challenge on Bayern sub Leon Goretska.

Kane then scored from an Upamecano cross but he was offside. Bayern pushed and pushed and they got an even bigger advantage when PSG sub, Lucas Hernandez, showed juvenile decision-making when he intentionally elbowed Raphael Guerrero, leading to him also getting a straight red-card.

Down to nine. Surely Bayern would be all over PSG, right? And they tried to be. But for all of the talk of PSG’s overwhelming attack, they defend extremely well and with locked-in discipline. They won most of the first balls Bayern sent into their area and were quicker to second balls, denying Bayern any clear chance despite their numerical inferiority.

It was Dembele, who had come on for Doue, who ensured that PSG made light work of their numerical inferiority with an emphatic finish after brilliant work down the right from Achraf Hakimi, who skipped past one, then two then three Bayern players to set him up.

Real Madrid vs Dortmund - Madrid Survive Late Scare

I had predicted another 2-1 win, with Real Madrid winning, but the match went much better than I expected and so, I can’t complain.

Dortmund ,as I mentioned in my quarterfinals preview, have looked incredibly shaky defensively in this tournament and it did not take Real Madrid long to expose these deficiencies when Arder Guler, who increasingly looks set to be a protagonist for Real Madrid next season, swung in a beautiful cross for an unmarked Gonzalo Garcia to slot home his fourth goal of the tournament to give Madrid a 1-0 in the 10^th minute.

Real Madrid’s left side, with triangles of Fran Garcia, Vini Jr and Arda Guler proved to the source of great pain for Dortmund, who were quite passive in the opening first half of the game, though to be fair, it was also Madrid’s choking 3-4-3 setup that also did them in.

Trent Alexander Arnold continued proving his worth in a Real Madrid shirt as he grabbed his second assist in as many games when his low cross was turned home by Fran Garcia, who had managed to ghost into the penalty box from the left.

Jude Bellingham should have made it 3-0 before half time but shot wide off the post while Vini Jr chipped over the bar to end a dominant first half for Real Madrid.

The second half was more of the same, with the Blancos dominating. Fede Valverde, Arda Guler and Antonio Rudiger all came close to adding a third, but the goal to condemn Dortmund just never came - not until much later anyway. 

But before that third, Dortmund rallied back!

Maximilia Beier made Rudiger pay for a poor clearance attempt in the 90+2 minute for 2-1 to set up a nervy finish but sub, Kylian Mbappe, who has been dealing with gastrointestinal issues at the start of the tournament, fired home that elusive third with a spectacular volley in the 90+4 minute.

Dean Huijsen however, ensured that the victory would not be smooth after he pulled down Serhou Guirassy, earning the Black Yellows a penalty. Huijsen was given a straight red for denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity and Guirassy slotted home the resulting penalty for his fourth goal of the tournament.

With wind up their tails, Dortmund piled forward, showing a level of determination in these final minutes that they hadn’t shown through the entire match. It was Marcel Sabitzer who had the best chance at the end of the game with a low shot toward the bottom corner but Courtois made a superb save to keep the ball from crossing the line and ensure it was Real Madrid who crossed the line into the semis.

Semis Set

And with the thrilling quarterfinals now behind us, the Semis are set:

Chelsea take on Fluminense on Tuesday 8 at Metlife Stadium, New York while Real Madrid and PSG battle it out on Wednesday at the same venue.

And there you have it. The quarterfinals are down. Who impressed you the most in the quarterfinals and which team do you think deserved to be in the quarterfinals but didn’t? I’d go with Bayern Munch, who suffered three unfortunate injuries which I think may have taken the sting out of them.

Diogo Jota and Andre Silva Tribute

These quarterfinals matches have been played under the heavy cloud hanging over the footballing world following the untimely passing of Liverpool forward, Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva (Penafiel), in a grisly road accident. Each of these matches kicked off with a minute of silence for the Liverpool number 20 and his brother. I would also wish to extend my condolences to the families of Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. May they be granted strength through this tough time.