Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Riyadh: Urawa Red Diamond striker Zlatan Ljubijankic is pleased with his side’s 1-1 draw against Al Hilal in the first leg of the 2017 AFC Champions League final.
The 33-year-old replaced injured Rafael Silva 20 minutes into the second half after the Brazilian, who had scored Urawa Red Diamonds’ only goal, was stretchered off with an injury.
“This result is what we came for,” explained the Slovenian. “We scored an away goal and avoided defeat. Now we have a good chance to win the second leg at home.”
The Japanese side struck inside the first 10 minutes, but subsequently fell under heavy pressure from Al Hilal for the remainder of the first half.
Ljubijankic saw little of the ball as his side retreated and attempted to hit on the counter-attacks which had brought them their only goal.
Al Hilal striker Omar Khribin was uncharacteristically wasteful and a heroic performance between the sticks by Urawa Red Diamonds goalkeeper Shukasu Nishikawa (pictured below) ensured the visitors escaped with a draw.
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