AFC Champions League: Al-Sadd exit in the semis despite defeating Al-Hilal in Riyadh

Al-Sadd bid farewell to the 2019 AFC Champions League at the semifinal stage after a 5-6 aggregate loss to Al-Hilal. The Wolves defeated their Saudi opponents 4-2 in the second leg on Tuesday at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, but it was not enough to go through due to the 4-1 loss in the home leg.

Salem Al-Dawsari gave Al-Hilal the lead before Akram Afif equalised from the penalty spot. Nam Tae-hee and Hassan Al-Haydos then scored in quick succession to put Al-Sadd 3-1 ahead, only for Bafetimbi Gomis to pull a goal back for Al-Hilal. Khoukhi Boualem then scored deep into second half stoppage time to make it 4-2 but Al-Sadd fell one goal short of an aggregate victory.

The game got off to a fiery start, with both sides looking to make an early impact. It was Al-Hilal who got the breakthrough, taking the lead through Al-Dawsari in the 13th minute. After Yasir Al-Shahrani sent in a cross from the left, Khoukhi Boualem failed to clear it far enough and the ball fell at the feet of Al-Dawsari, who finished past Saad Al-Dosari in the Al-Sadd goal.

Three minutes later, Al-Sadd were awarded a penalty after Akram Afif was brought down by Al-Hilal’s Mohammed Al-Burayk in the box. He stepped up to take the penalty himself and converted past Abdullah Al-Mayouf to level the scores on the night.

Al-Sadd then went further in front through two goals in two minutes. Nam Tae-hee was the first, finishing past Al-Mayouf in the 19th minute with a fierce left-footed strike after being set up nicely by Hassan Al-Haydos.

Al-Haydos then got on the scoresheet a minute later, reaching the ball first after Nam Tae-hee’s dribble was stopped in the box, and lashing in an unstoppable shot to give Al-Sadd a 3-1 lead in the second leg and reduce the aggregate deficit to 4-5.

However, Al-Sadd were then dealt a blow in the 25th minute, when an unmarked Bafetimbi Gomis got to the end of an aerial ball from Sebastian Giovinco and put the ball away past Al-Dosari to extend their aggregate lead to 6-4.

The first half thus ended with Al-Sadd leading 3-2 on the night, and they came out of the tunnel after the break looking to make a mighty push for the two goals they needed to go through.

It proved to be a difficult task for the Wolves who carved out several attempts only to fail at the final hurdle. Head coach Xavi Hernandez brought on Abdulaziz Al-Ansari, Ali Asad and Hamed Ismail to replace Hashim Ali, Salem Al-Hajri and Hassan Al-Haydos, in the second half but the coveted result did not materialize.

Four minutes of injury time were added on by the referee, and Khoukhi Boualem raised Al-Sadd’s hopes with a thumping header off Nam Tae-hee’s corner in the 93rd minute, which meant that the Wolves now needed to score one more goal to go through. Nam had the chance to do just that from a last-gasp free-kick from the edge of the box but his effort sailed into the hands of Al-Mayouf, who grasped the ball; the full-time whistle went off moments later, signalling a 4-2 win for Al-Sadd on the night but it would not be enough for a ticket to the final.

MATCH DETAILS:

Al-Hilal x Al-Sadd (AFC Champions League 2019 – Semifinal second leg)

VENUE:

King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh

LINEUPS:

Al-Hilal: Abdullah Al-Mayoof, Mohammed Al-Burayk, Ali Albulayhi, Salman Al-Faraj, Abdullah Otayf (Nasser Al-Dawsari), Sebastian Giovinco (Mohammad Al-Shalhoub), Yaseer Al-Shahrani, Bafétimbi Gomis, André Carrillo, Jang Hyun-Soo, Salem Al Dawsari (Nawaf Al-Abid)

Al-Sadd: Saad Al Sheeb, Pedro Miguel, Jung Woo-Young, Hassan Al Haydos (Hamed Ismail), Gabi, Tarek Salman, Boualem Khoukhi, Nam Tae-hee, Salem Al-Hajri (Ali Asad), Hashim Ali (Abdulaziz Al-Ansari), Akram Afif

RESULT:

Al-Sadd won 4-2 (Al-Hilal progressed to the final after a 6-5 aggregate win)

GOALSCORERS:

Salem Al-Dawsari 13′
Akram Afif 16′ (PEN)
Nam Tae-hee 19′
Hassan Al-Haydos 20′
Bafetimbi Gomis 25′
Khoukhi Boualem 90+3′

BOOKINGS:

Mohammed Al-Burayk 16′
Salem Al-Hajri 44′
Khoukhi Boualem 58′
Ali Asad 75′
Yasir Al-Shahrani 89′

REFEREES:

Match referee: Muhammad Taqi Aljaafari (Singapore)
Linesman 1: Koh Min Kiat (Singapore)
Linesman 2: Abdul Hannan Bin Abdul Hasim (Singapore)
Fourth official: Ameer Dawood (Iraq)
Additional referee 1: Muhannad Qasim (Iraq)
Additional referee 2: Ali Qasim (Iraq)