Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Daiki Hashioka has admitted that Urawa Red Diamonds were beaten by the better team after Al Hilal’s 2-0 win in the second leg of the 2019 AFC Champions League final at Saitama Stadium on Sunday secured a 3-0 aggregate victory to deny the hosts a third title.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Riyadh, the J.League side needed to win to have any chance of lifting the AFC Champions League trophy for the second time in three years, but Al Hilal were on top for large spells of the game, missing a number of chances in the first 70 minutes.
When the visitors’ goal did eventually arrive it was no surprise, with Salem Al Dawsari tapping home in the 74th minute before the tournament’s top scorer Bafetimbi Gomis put the icing on the cake by adding a second in stoppage time as Al Hilal avenged their defeat in the 2017 final at the same venue.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Goals from Salem Al Dawsari and Bafetimbi Gomis ensured Al Hilal claimed the AFC Champions League for the first time in the club’s history as the Riyadh-based side completed a 3-0 aggregate win over Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds at Saitama Stadium on Sunday.
Al Dawsari’s close range effort 16 minutes from time and Gomis’ injury time strike gave Al Hilal a 2-0 win on the night and allowed them to complete a historic win following their first leg victory at the King Saud University Stadium two weeks ago.
Al Hilal become the first club from West Asia to win the title since Al Sadd’s victory in 2011 and they are the first team from Saudi Arabia to claim the trophy since the second of Al Ittihad’s back-to-back wins in 2005.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Bafetimbi Gomis of Al Hilal SFC scored a double of Sunday as he was named the 2019 AFC Champions League MVP and won the Top Scorer award.
Gomis scored 11 goals in Al Hilal's campaign, which saw the Saudi Arabia side win the AFC Champions League title after defeating Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds 3-0 on aggregate, with the former France international scoring Al Hilal's second goal in Sunday's 2-0 second leg win at the Saitama Stadium.
Gomis' goals and leadership played a pivotal role in Al Hilal's triumph, a first for the club after having fallen in the 2014 and 2017 finals.
Gomis was a mainstay in Al Hilal's campaign, featuring in all 14 matches the Saudi club played en route to winning the title.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Razvan Lucescu hailed his Al Hilal players as the club from Saudi Arabia ended their AFC Champions League hoodoo with a win over Urawa Red Diamonds at Saitama Stadium on Sunday that ensured the trophy returns with them to Riyadh.
Al Hilal avenged their defeat against the same opponents two years ago to become the first club from Saudi Arabia to secure the title since Al Ittihad claimed the second of their back-to-back crowns in 2005 to erase bitter memories of previous final failure.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Urawa Red Diamonds head coach Tsuyoshi Otsuki was left lamenting his side’s inability to claw back their first-leg deficit in the opening 45 minutes of the second leg of the 2019 AFC Champions League final as the two-time champions lost out on Sunday to Al Hilal SFC.
The side from Saudi Arabia completed a 3-0 aggregate win thanks to second half goals from Salem Al Dawsari and Bafetimbi Gomis to claim the title for the first time in the club’s history.
Urawa went into the game at Saitama Stadium trailing by a goal from Andre Carrillo in the first leg in Riyadh two weeks ago and Razvan Lucescu’s side kept the 2007 and 2017 champions’ attack quiet throughout much of the game.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: With communication the key to their victory, Jang Hyun-soo’s crash course in English played a key role in the former Korea Republic international helping Al Hilal SFC secure the 2019 AFC Champions League title on Sunday.
Jang’s performance at the heart of the Saudi Arabian club’s defence kept Urawa Red Diamonds at bay before goals from Salem Al Dawsari and Bafetimbi Gomis ensured the club from Riyadh finally won the title.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Saitama: Urawa Red Diamonds defender Tomoaki Makino conceded he and his teammates were outclassed by Al Hilal SFC as the Saudi Arabian side finally claimed their first-ever AFC Champions League title with victory over the two-time winners on Sunday.
Tsuyoshi Otsuki’s men failed to feed off an electric atmosphere at Saitama Stadium, where the 2017 AFC Champions League winners went down meekly against the visitors from Riyadh.
It was the first time in tournament history that a Japanese club has lost the AFC Champions League final, and Reds defender Makino made no excuses as their bid for a third continental crown was unsuccessful.