Hair he goes: Hilal’s Bafetimbi Gomis celebrates scoring © AFP / KARIM JAAFAR
DOHA, Qatar, Dec 14 – Veteran French striker Bafetimbi Gomis came off the bench to score the only goal as Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal defeated African champions Esperance 1-0 on Saturday to reach the Club World Cup semi-finals.
Gomis, 34, replaced Gustavo Cuellar in the 65th minute before scoring the only goal of the game eight minutes later.
Former Saint-Etienne, Lyon and Swansea striker Gomis found the target after flicking the ball over the African side’s defenders before slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
Al Hilal lost Mohamed Kanno to a red card late in the game but it did not prevent the Asian champions from setting up a last-four clash on Tuesday against Brazil’s Flamengo.
Later Saturday, Qatar’s Al Sadd face Monterrey of Mexico with the chance to face European champions Liverpool in the semi-final on Wednesday.
