Four-time champions Al Hilal booked a commanding place in the AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals on Friday night with a resounding 7-0 victory over South Korea’s Gwangju at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
The Saudi Arabian giants, who started their campaign with Brazil star Neymar before his February return to Santos, showcased their firepower in the quarter-final opener of the newly introduced Elite Finals — a centralised showdown featuring Asia’s top eight clubs.
Salem Al-Dawsari, the 2022 Asian Footballer of the Year, stole the spotlight with an outstanding performance that saw Al Hilal lay down a serious marker in the race for the title.
It took only six minutes for the Saudi Pro League champions to open the scoring, with former Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic powering home a header from Al-Dawsari’s corner. The lead was doubled in the 25th minute when Brazilian winger Malcom set up Marcos Leonardo, who calmly slotted past Gwangju goalkeeper Kim Kyeong-Min.
Leonardo turned provider eight minutes later, sending Al-Dawsari through to slot home a third, taking his personal tally to nine goals in the tournament and making him joint-top scorer alongside Gwangju’s Jasir Asani.
The only blemish for Al Hilal came when Portuguese full-back Joao Cancelo, a treble winner with Manchester City, was forced off with an apparent hamstring injury shortly before half-time.
After the break, Al Hilal continued to dominate. Aleksandar Mitrovic, back from injury, added a fourth in the 55th minute, tapping in Milinkovic-Savic’s cross.
Malcom and Mitrovic combined for the fifth goal, before substitute Nasser Al-Dawsari’s deflected shot made it six. Abdullah Al-Hamdan capped off the emphatic win with a powerful long-range strike.
Al Hilal will now face either fellow Saudi side Al Ahli or Thailand’s Buriram United in the semi-final scheduled for Tuesday. Both teams will clash on Saturday, also in Jeddah.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr continue their continental pursuit on Saturday against last year’s finalists, Yokohama F-Marinos, at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City. Yokohama, who recently parted ways with ex-England assistant Steve Holland, will be under the interim charge of Australian coach Patrick Kisnorbo.
