Bafetimbi Gomis backed Al Hilal to reach the Club World Cup final after he scored a spectacular winning goal in his side s 1-0 quarter-final victory over ES Tunis.
The former Lyon, Marseille and Galatasaray forward came on as a second-half substitute and struck a volley from the edge of the penalty area 17 minutes from time to tee up a semi-final clash with South American champions Flamengo.
Gomis reflected on his recovery from a series of hamstring problems after further justifying Al Hilal s €6million investment with his latest crucial goal.
It was a good team effort, the striker, who scored in the AFC Champions League final second leg last month, told reporters.
I am happy I helped my team. All the players worked well; we played a very good game. I am happy I scored that goal.
I am very happy because I worked a lot to come back to that level. I had surgery and it took me time to come back. So, I am very happy.
Eight minutes was all it took for the lion to get his prey! showing why he was MVP!
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom)
Gomis warned his team-mates that they will face stern opposition in Jorge Jesus side in the last four but indicated that a narrow win had given Al Hilal belief.
It will be a good game between two big teams, said the 34-year-old. Flamengo have many qualities and a great coach.
We don t know this team very well. Before having the opportunity to play against Flamengo, we needed to win against ES Tunis. We did it. Now, we hope we can play a good game and win against Flamengo.
Everything is possible in football. We also have our qualities.
