“Karim Benzema Didn’t Score” – Al Ittihad Boss Marcelo Gallardo Blames 35YO’s Miss After Club WC Exit

Al Ittihad’s dreams of winning the Club World Cup were squashed as they lost 3-1 against Egyptian giants Al-Ahly. However, the fans who saw the match will point out that things would have been different should Karim Benzema have converted his penalty in the first half. The Saudi giants boss has blamed the Frenchman after their unfortunate exit from the tournament.

The focus of the team will be to finish as high as possible in the Saudi League. Their fans will hope that the team can progress to the semi-finals of the King’s Cup like their rivals.

Al Ittihad boss criticizes his Karim Benzema for failing to score the penalty

Saudi giants Al Ittihad were one of the top contenders for the Club World Cup. Hence, the fans and experts backed them to win their game against Al-Ahly. After the defeat, the penalty miss from the star striker Karim Benzema made the headlines. Marcelo Gallardo speaking after the team’s defeat said, “We had a penalty kick that Karim Benzema did not score, and this made things difficult for us physically.” We had opportunities in second but failed to take it.”

Soccer Football – Saudi Pro League – Al Shabab v Al Ittihad – King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – November 3, 2023 Al Ittihad’s Karim Benzema during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Ahmed YosriAl Ittihad fans also backed a player like Benzema who has scored big goals for Real Madrid in his playing career. He is also the only player to score in the four editions of the tournament.  The star striker did get a goal in the last minutes of the match. However, the goal was consolation as the team had conceded two more goals before the French striker scored.

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The Saudi giants will be disappointed with the surprising loss. But, star player Fabinho has called for the team to recover quickly from the losses. This is because they have important games coming up before the international break.

Fabinho backs the team to recover from the disappointing defeat

One of the captains of the club Fabinho has urged the fans to back them. He has also apologized to the team for their poor performance in the defeat against Al-Ahly. The Brazilian midfielder said, “We have to raise our heads. I know the hopes of the fans depend on us, but unfortunately, we were not at our best level. The Saudi giants will have to quickly return to their best level.”

Their next 2 of the 3 games are against those that are well below them on the league table. Al Raed is in the relegation zone. Al Tai is also in the 12th position. So, this presents them the opportunity to get their house in order. They also have a tough game against high-flying Al Nassr.

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Hence, they must remain at their best level. So, will Al Ittihad win all the three games before the international break? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.