Is that even legal?! Al Hilal's Bounou stuns the world with killer saves against City
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Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 01.07.25. | 14:59
The Moroccan keeper was the hero of the day despite conceding three goals. Erling Haaland invited him to join the Cityzens after the match
Yassine Bounou is of a different ilk, and his class becomes even more apparent during tournaments.
The world heard of him mostly during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, when he led Morocco to the semi-final. Now, it's time for another masterclass from the veteran Moroccan custodian.
Bounou, 34, was already instrumental in salvaging a point in the maiden Club World Cup game against Real Madrid (1-1). The former Atletico Madrid, Zaragoza, and Girona player, currently plying his trade at Al Hilal, made six saves, preventing Los Blancos from registering a win by stopping Fede Valverde's stoppage time penalty.
— Best Goalkeeper Saves (@BestSavesGK) July 1, 2025
He kept a clean sheet against Salzburg (0-0) and Pachuca (2-0) and once again delivered a stunning performance in the historic 4-3 last-16 victory over Manchester City. The Moroccan international conceded three goals, but made a total of 10 saves.
Interestingly, after the match, Erling Haaland was seen hugging and congratulating Bounou, but also telling him - jokingly or not - to come to Manchester City and become their player in foreseeable future.
🚨 Haaland to Yassine Bounou:
— KinG £ (@xKGx__) July 1, 2025
Come to City 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/rBOymvifHO
According to Opta, he has made the most saves (23) in the tournament so far, ahead of Ustari (Inter Miami/20) and Garrow (Auckland City/20).
He also has the fourth-best save percentage (85.19%), surpassed only by Andrada (Monterey/90%), Donnarumma (PSG/87.5%), and Courtois (Real Madrid/87.5%).
But if there's one statistic Bono should be especially proud about, it's the metric that measures the difference between xG and goals conceded, which shows that the Al Hilal goalkeeper should have conceded 4.55 more goals than he did! Only John Victor (Botafogo) has saved more "expected goals" (4.77) in the entire Club World Cup.
FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP 2025
1/8 finals
Saturday
Palmeiras - Botafogo 1-0 AET (0-0)
/Paulinho 10/
Benfica - Chelsea 1-4 AET (1-1)
/Di Maria 90+5 pen - James 64, Nkunku 108, Neto 114, Dewsbury-Hall 117/
Sunday
PSG - Inter Miami (4-0)
/Neves 6,39, Aviles 44 og, Hakimi 45+3/
Flamengo - Bayern 2-4 (1-3)
/Gerson 33, Jorginho 55 pen - Pulgar 6 (og), Kane 9, 73, Goretzka 41/
Monday
Inter - Fluminense 0-2 (0-1)
/Cano 3, Hercules 90+3/
Tuesday
Manchester City - Al Hilal 3-4 AET (2-2)
/Silva 9, Haaland 55, Foden 104 - Leonardo 46, 112, Malcom 52, Koulibaly 94/
22.00: (1.67) Real Madrid (3.70) Juventus (5.50)
Wednesday
04.00: (1.80) Dortmund (3.60) Monterrey (4.60)
***odds are subject to change***
