AFC Champions League Elite - MD1: Al Hilal SFC (KSA) 2-1 Al Duhail SC (QAT)

#ACLElite | Al Hilal SFC (KSA) 2-1 Al Duhail SC (QAT) — AFC Champions League Elite
MD1: Al Hilal SFC (KSA) 2-1 Al Duhail SC (QAT)
Wed, 17 September, 2025

Riyadh: Al Hilal SFC produced a second half fightback to defeat Al Duhail SC 2-1 in their AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 opener at the Kingdom Arena on Tuesday.

Darwin Nunez came off the bench in the second half to cancel out Adil Boulbina’s opener before fellow AFC Champions League Elite debutant Thoe Hernandez volleyed home the winner to secure the win for Simone Inzaghi’s side.

The home side were almost caught out as early as the fourth minute by an Al Duhail counter-attack when Krzysztof Piatek broke free on the right before setting up Luis Alberto, whose shot from inside the box was calmly dealt with by Joao Cancelo.

Al Hilal’s Malcolm tried his luck from distance in the eighth minute but sent his shot over the bar, while Nasser Al Dawsari sent a curling effort wide off the right post five minutes later.

Al Duhail had another scare in the 26th minute when Malcom pounced on a loose ball and combined with Marcos Leonardo, only for his effort to be denied by keeper Salah Zakaria before Hassan Al Tambakti placed his header wide off the ensuing corner.

Simone Inzaghi’s Al Hilal continued to pile on the pressure with Leonardo and Nasser Al Dawsari threatening before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic unleashed a powerful drive from distance which was tipped away by Zakaria.

But their high press left them vulnerable and a long ball from Al Duhail’s Youssouf Sabaly sent Adil Boulbina through, with the Algerian midfielder rounding Yassine Bounou before finishing with a sublime strike.

Al Hilal thought they had equalised in the fifth minute of first half stoppage time through Yusuf Akcicek’s long range effort but their celebrations were cut short after a VAR review ruled out the goal.

Inzaghi sent on Nunez for Al Tambakti in the second half and the move paid off in the 57th minute, with the Uruguayan finishing off a Hamad Al Yami’s cutback following a fine team move.

With momentum on their side, Al Hilal capitalised on a poor clearance from Ibrahima Bamba 10 minutes later - leaving Hernandez to hit a volleyed attempt which hit Bamba before sailing past Zakaria as Al Hilal took the points.

MD1: Al Hilal SFC (KSA) 2-1 Al Duhail SC (QAT)

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