Al Ain team advanced to the AFC Champions League final for the fourth time in its history and the second in eight years, despite losing to Al Hilal Saudi Arabia 1-2 in the second leg yesterday in Riyadh, benefiting from its first leg victory at home 4-2.
The Al Ain players performed a football epic, as they braved in front of Al Hilal and its fans, and they also overcame the circumstances of the match, which were represented by conceding an early goal in the fourth minute, in addition to the injury of player Eric Jorgens, who had scored the equalizing goal and then left forcedly.
The “Al-Zaeem” players proved that they were up to the challenge and were not affected by the clamor of the home fans, who crowded in the thousands in the stands, nor were they afraid of the resonant international names in the ranks of the Saudi team.
Returning to the course of the match, Al Ain conceded an early goal in the fourth minute from a penalty kick, after a violation committed by defender Kwame Otui, and the referee awarded it after returning to the “VAR” video technology, and player Ruben Neves executed it successfully.
The Al Ain players quickly recovered from the shock and regained their balance, and succeeded in scoring the equalizing goal in the 12th minute, after a technical statement in which the ball reached Yahya Nader, inside the penalty area, and he passed it to his teammate Eric Jorgens, who put it in a wonderful way past Yassine Bounou.
As time passed, “Al-Zaeem” retreated slightly amid an awakening on the part of Al-Hilal, which launched dangerous attacks on goalkeeper Khaled Issa, but they ended at the feet of Al-Ain’s defenders, while the rest went outside the field, so the two sides entered a break between the two halves with a positive 1-1 draw.
The second half began with Ainawi’s retreat to the back areas, which was costly because it gave the hosts the opportunity to control the course of the match, and put Al Ain players under pressure, which caused the net to concede a Hilal goal by Salem Al Dosari in the 51st minute, with a ground shot that passed between the “Purple” defenders and entered the net.
Despite the desperate attempts of the hosts, they were not enough to make an adjustment, and Al Ain qualified for the continental final with a score of 5-4.
3 planes transported “Al-Aynawiya”
Three planes that took off from Al Ain International Airport carried hundreds of Emirati fans to Riyadh, who stood behind Al-Zaeem against Al-Hilal, based on the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, First Vice President of the Club, and the Al-Ainawi Council of Honor, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Club. Eye.
Al Ain awaits the qualifier from the Ulsan-Yokohama match
Al Ain awaits the team emerging from the East Asian semi-final match, which brings together Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea and Yokohama Marinos of Japan at two o’clock this afternoon, and the Korean team had won the first leg in its stadium with a clean goal.
The AFC had set the first leg of the final match on May 11 in the east of the continent at the finalist’s stadium from the Ulsan and Yokohama match, while the return match (decisive) will be held in the west of the continent on May 25 at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium. Al Ain Club’s chance to win the continental title for the second time in its history after 2003 seems strong, after the impressive performance it presented against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals, and before it its star-studded compatriot Al Nassr.
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