Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Riyadh: Unity was the key factor in Al HIlal’s progress to the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League, claimed Giorgis Donis, after the Greek coach saw his team come back from a first-leg deficit to eliminate Persepolis at King Fahd International Stadium on Tuesday.
The Iranians led 1-0 after the first leg in Tehran, but goals from Yousef Al Salem (pictured), Mohammad Shalhoub and Abdulaziz Al Dawsari ensured the 2014 finalists would line up in the last eight for the third time in four seasons.
ACL RD16 2nd Leg: Al Hilal 3-0 Persepolis (3-1 agg)
“I’m really proud of my players as the team achieved a big target for this season,” said Donis, who took the helm of the club earlier in the year. “The team showed great solidarity tonight as we were one unit and achieved the result that we were looking for.
“We asked the players to play with good concentration and things became easier after we scored the second goal. We showed great determination to make a good comeback after the defeat in the first leg and the performance was great.”
Al Hilal rarely looked troubled despite Persepolis’ resolute start to the game and, by the 29th minute, the Saudis were level on aggregate thanks to Al Salem’s straight forward finish.
Shalhoub doubled Al Hilal’s lead on the night from the penalty spot in the 57th minute to put the Saudi side in front for the first time over the two legs and Al Dawsari put the result beyond any doubt in stoppage time, capitalising on Persepolis’ desperation to score at the other end.
“The players had a difficult season as we lost two finals which made things hard for them,” said Donis.
“Therefore, we asked them not to go forward without any concentration and we approached the match very well which helped us to win tonight.”
Photo: AFP