February 09, (THEWILL) – Monterrey, the CONCACAF Champions League winners, finished fifth in the FIFA Club World Cup after cruising to a 3-1 victory over Al Jazira of the United Arab Emirates.
The Mexican team took the lead after just three minutes, when a poor shot deflected off Al Jazira defender Zayed Sultan and looped across the goalline by a matter of inches.
But, Rogelio Funes Mori turned the goalkeeper and tapped into an open net after 11 minutes as the Liga MX side appeared determined to make amends for their wasteful loss to Al Ahly the week before.
Monterrey dominated the first half and added a third goal with 25 minutes left on the clock, when captain Cesar Montes headed home Arturo Gonzalez’s free-kick.
With the game virtually over by halftime, the Mexicans made a series of substitutions early in the second half. They could have had more goals with renewed enthusiasm in the side as they drew three great saves from Al Jazira goalkeeper and captain Ali Khaseif.
Although Monterrey deserved to win after registering 18 shots on goal to the Emirati champions’ six, the Emirati champions did score a late consolation goal when Brazilian winger Bruno De Oliveira raced onto a low pass and tapped home in stoppage time.
Chelsea will take on Odion Ighalo’s Al Hilal in one of the semi-finals of the Abu Dhabi-hosted competition. That fixture kicks off at 5:30pm local time.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
