Kalidou Koulibaly was part of an Al-Hilal side that picked up an impressive draw against Real Madrid in midweek, and Chelsea fans had lots to say about their former player.
Chelsea kickstarted their own Club World Cup tournament by beating Los Angeles FC 2-0 in a Group D match. Next, the Blues face Brazilian giants Flamengo on Friday night.
Elsewhere in the Club World Cup, Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal on Wednesday night in Group H.
Kalidou Koulibaly, 33, was one of many familiar faces in the Al-Hilal starting line-up against Madrid. He rolled back the years with an impressive performance, too.
The central defender joined Chelsea in 2022 but was sold just a year later for £17m (The Sun) to Al-Hilal after a challenging season at Stamford Bridge.
Koulibaly described his time at Chelsea as “difficult” after struggling to get to grips with Premier League football, but the former Napoli star has rediscovered some form in Saudi Arabia in the last couple of years.
Chelsea supporters blown away by Kalidou Koulibaly’s Club World Cup display
Chelsea fans on X were left amazed by Koulibaly’s individual performance for Al-Hilal against Madrid in the Club World Cup fixture.
One fan wrote: “Koulibaly was rock solid today.”
“Koulibaly has been superb tonight,” another posted.
One supporter claimed: “Koulibaly is still performing at a high level after all these years.”
“Koulibaly has completely neutralised all aerial threats from Madrid in this game. Vintage,” another said.
Thiago Silva starred for Fluminense at the Club World Cup earlier this week with a fantastic performance. Well, Koulibaly is another former Chelsea defender who’s just caught the eye at the summer club competition.
Al-Hilal’s display against Madrid suggests they could be surprise packages at the Club World Cup tournament.
Impressive Kalidou Koulibaly statistics vs Real Madrid
The defensive performance from Al-Hilal’s backline against Madrid was impressive. Admittedly, French superstar Kylian Mbappe was missing through illness for the La Liga giants.
In particular, Koulibaly put his body on the line numerous times with some great interventions.
| Minutes played | Accurate passes | Blocks | Clearances | Recoveries | Dribbled past | Fouls committed | Match rating |
| 90 | 40/49 (82%) | 1 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6.5 |
Jason Cundy said Koulibaly was “terrible” in Chelsea colours. Unfortunately, everything didn’t click into place for him in West London as he struggled to live up to his reputation.
Instead, he’s now two years into his spell at Al-Hilal, where he’ll now get the chance to work under manager Simone Inzaghi.
