Flamengo pay the penalty as Salem double assists Al Hilal

Salem Al-Dawsari's electrifying performance booked his side a place in Saturday's final. Al Hilal will face Al Ahly or Real Madrid in the match that will determine the new club world champions.

Evolving into a five-goal thriller, the first semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022™ did not disappoint. Two converted first-half penalties and an assist for his side's third goal saw winger Salem Al-Dawsari inspire Al Hilal to a 3-2 victory over Copa Libertadores champions, Flamengo.

Semi-final: CR Flamengo 2-3 Al Hilal SFC

MAN OF THE MATCH presented by Visit Saudi: Salem Al-Dawsari (Al Hilal)

Trailing 2-1 at the interval, Flamengo's task in hand was made even more difficult after midfielder, Gerson, was sent off for a second bookable offence in the build-up to his side's concession of a second penalty.

Al Hilal were content to control the game without the ball, looking to explode forward with dangerous counter-attacks with attacking midfielder, Salem, playing a vital role for his team in this victory.

According to Cha Du-Ri, this was another impressive performance from the Saudi Arabian side.

"What a start Al Hilal got with the early penalty, which Salem converted confidently. But as the game progressed, Flamengo found their rhythm and scored a very good equaliser but the second penalty at the end of the first half changed the game completely. Salem showed great composure to take the second penalty, changing his execution and going the opposite direction to the first one.

Salem calmly dispatches his first penalty in the fourth minute of the game.

For his second penalty Salem picks the opposite side to his first and slots the ball into the corner with precision, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.

"He has great pace and is very good with the ball at his feet, his performance was outstanding. Two goals (penalties) and an assist showed he is an important player for his team and that he can deliver in big moments of the game. He made a big difference in midfield and was up against some hugely talented and experienced Flamengo players. Also, when his team did not have the ball, he worked very hard for his team," he explained.

Salem demonstrated he was capable of dictating play deep inside Flamengo's half.

An examination of Salem's performance data highlights how he dominated the upper-left quadrant of the pitch for his team. He made the most offers to receive in the game (106), with 79 of those occurring in between the lines of Flamengo's defensive structure.

His explosivity is evident in the fact that he made the most sprints of > 20km/h in the game with 74, which was 52 more than the match's average. This also demonstrates how hard he worked to secure the important statistics of most attempts at goal (4) and most goals (2). Salem was happy to serve others as well, providing the assist for Luciano Vietto in Al Hilal's third goal.

For his assist in Al Hilal's third goal, Salem chooses to selflessly clip the ball across the box for Vietto to finish, instead of attempting to complete his hat-trick.