Al-Hilal beats Al-Ain, but misses out on the Asian Champions League final < In Attack

Al-Hilal beat Al-Ain 2-1, this Tuesday (23/4), but was eliminated from the Asian Champions League. The team needed to reverse the score in the first leg, in which they lost 4-2. At the Kingdom Arena, the goals for Jorge Jesus’ team came from Ruben Neves and Al-Dawsari. Erik scored the only goal for the visiting team. On aggregate, it was 5-4 for Al-Ain.

Al-Ain awaits the winner of Yokohama F. Marinos and Ulsan Hyundai, who face each other on Wednesday. In the first game, Ulsan Hyundai won 1-0.

The game

The game in Kingdom Arena needed just two minutes to gain strong emotions. The referee awarded Kouame a penalty against the Brazilian Michael. Thus, Ruben Neves took the penalty and opened the scoring for Al-Hilal. However, at 11′ the visiting team tied the match, with Erik. He shot into Bono’s left corner, with no chance for the goalkeeper.

Already in the final stretch of the first stage. at 40′, the penalty signaled another penalty, but for Al-Ain. The VAR, however, advised the review of the move, causing it to be taken back and the penalty cancelled.

Just like in the previous stage, Jorge Jesus’ team reached the goal early, after five minutes. In a play that started with a throw-in, Al-Dawsari took advantage of the opponent’s defense and filled the net.

Needing to equalize the aggregate score, Al-Hilal found it difficult to extend the score, as the visiting team closed down in defense. And it was like that until the end of the match, as coach Hernán Crespo asked his team to close down in defense.