AFC Champions League: 4-time champions Al-Hilal hit 7 past Gwangju to reach semi-finals
Salem Al-Dawsari stars in Saudi champions’ romp over South Koreans as the finals are held in a centralised location for the first time
Four-time winners Al-Hilal booked their place in the AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals on Friday night with a thumping 7-0 win against South Korea’s Gwangju in Jeddah.
The Saudi Arabian champions, who began the campaign with Brazil superstar Neymar in their ranks before his February return to Santos, romped to victory at King Abdullah Sports City, with 2022 Asian Footballer of the Year Salem Al-Dawsari the stand-out.
The quarter-final encounter kicked off the inaugural AFC Champions League Elite Finals, where the continent’s top eight teams – four from West Asia, four from the East – compete in a centralised location for the trophy.
Al-Hilal are one of three Saudi sides in the last eight, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli, the home team who boast the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney.
Al-Hilal, continental champions in 1991, 2000, 2019 and 2021 and runners-up on five other occasions, were several levels above the K-League side, who are appearing in the competition for the first time.
The Saudi team underlined their credentials by cruising into the last four. They needed all of six minutes to take the lead, when former Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic met Al-Dawsari’s corner to power home a header.