Leonardo Jardim worked wonders at Monaco during his first spell with the club, and despite having found himself in the coaching wilderness for a short time, the Portuguese coach's free-scoring Al-Hilal side are threatening to challenge chelsea in the Club World Cup.

A 6-1 victory over Al-Jazira in the quarter-final of the tournament was the biggest victory in the history of the competition, and it showed just how prolific the Saudi side are in attack.

They boast a star-studded front line with Odion Ighalo, Moussa Marega, Andre Carrillo, Matheus Pereira, Michael and Salem Al-Dawsari all scoring a huge amount of goals this term.

Defeating Al-Jazira has qualified Jardim's charges for the semi-final against Chelsea, and the former Monaco coach has a belief in his team that they can cause an upset.

"We're going to face the champions of Europe, but we are the champions of Asia and it won't be an easy match for either team," Jardim declared in his post-match press conference.

"The balance is tilted in favour of Chelsea, but nothing is impossible. We deserve to be in the semi-final and we are ready to challenge them."

Lost leading scorer

What makes this performance even more impressive is the fact that Al-Hilal lost their leading scorer in the transfer window, with Bafetimbi Gomis leaving the club on loan to return to Galatasaray.

Thomas Tuchel will have a challenge in keeping the Saudi club quiet in their semi-final, with his own team having had a period of significant exertion over the winter.

Not only did his team suffer badly with COVID-19 enforced absences, but in their most recent fixture, the Blues were forced into extra-time in an FA Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle at Stamford Bridge.

"We're going to play against Chelsea, a good team which I have played against before, but as you know the goal of the team and the fans is to win, because this team doesn't understand losing," Ighalo told FIFA's official website after his debut with Al-Hilal.

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Source: Marca