Al Hilal Saudi Arabia is looking for its fourth victory in its fourth match in the unified group of the AFC Champions League in its new look, when it hosts Esteghlal Tehran of Iran tomorrow, Monday.
Al Hilal emerged victorious from its first three matches in the West Asian continent group, the last of which was at Al Ain Stadium in the UAE, the defending champion, 5-4 thanks to a hat-trick by Salem Al Dosari and with the participation of Brazilian star Neymar for the first time in more than a year.
After starting its journey in the continental championship in its new form with an away victory over Al-Rayyan of Qatar 3-1, Al-Hilal achieved a great result at home against the Iraqi Al-Shorta with a clean five, then added Al-Ain to the list with an exciting victory.
After more than a year of absence due to injury, Neymar finally returned to the field by participating in the 77th minute in place of the injured Nasser Al-Dosari, when the score was 5-3.
Neymar, who joined Al Hilal in August 2023, injured his cruciate ligament and meniscus on October 17 of the same year while participating with his country against Uruguay in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
𝙇𝒆𝙩’𝙨 𝙜𝒐 pic.twitter.com/CUyVnSlQHs
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) November 2, 2024
The confrontation against Al Ain was revenge for Al Hilal, which was eliminated last season from the semi-finals of the continental competition at the hands of the Emirati team (2-4 in the first leg and 2-1 in the return), which went on to win the title at the expense of the Japanese Yokohama Marinos, putting a stand in the way of the series of victories of the Saudi League champion at that time. In all competitions, which was the longest in football history at 34 in a row.
Al Hilal enters the match against Esteghlal Tehran, which achieved one victory in its first three matches compared to two defeats, after drawing with its arch-neighbor Al-Nasr 1-1 on Friday in the local league, which it leads by a point from Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad.
Fourth victory
Like Al-Hilal, its compatriot Al-Ahly is looking for its fourth successive victory and maintaining its perfect record when it hosts the Iraqi club Al-Shorta, which is in ninth place out of 12 teams in the West with two points.
In contrast to its distinguished journey in the main continental competition, Al-Ahly is suffering in the Saudi League, where it occupies ninth place after losing Thursday in the Jeddah derby to Al-Ittihad (0-1), suffering its fourth defeat of the season.
Via the link below, tickets for the meeting #Al-Ahly_Iraqi_Police within #AFC_Champions_League_for_the_elite Which will be held at 7:00 pm next Monday, November 4, at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium – Jeddah.
⬇️https://t.co/IgZbKhqhxn pic.twitter.com/NtvMTIyPKV– Al-Ahli Saudi Club (@ALAHLI_FC) November 2, 2024
After Al-Ahly’s victory away from home over Al-Rayyan of Qatar 2-1 in the last round, its German coach Matthias Jaisse believes that his team will continue to improve in the next stage.
“I thank the players for the effort they made in this match, and we look forward to benefiting from these matches with the aim of developing ourselves and moving forward in this important tournament,” Yaysla said, as quoted by the AFC website.
The connection and the dam
Al-Wasl, the double champion of the UAE League and Cup, will meet its guest Al-Sadd of Qatar in a confrontation between fifth (6 points) and third (7) in the standings.
Al-Wasl goes into the match while suffering locally, after failing to win in the last 4 matches, in contrast to its continental career, where it scored 6 points from 3 matches.
Ahmed Al Shafar, president of Al Wasl Club, said, “The continental competition is special for us because we represent the Emirates.” He stressed that “the Al-Sadd match will be different for Al-Wasl, and through it he aspires to continue his good journey in it.”
Al-Gharafa of Qatar will be a guest on Persepolis of Iran, hoping to benefit from the shaky morale of its host, who obtained only a point from its first three matches, ranking tenth in place.
On the other hand, Al Gharafa has 3 points gained from its victory in the second round over Al Ain, the defending champion, 4-2.
Al-Gharafa realizes that the task is not easy, especially after the harsh loss it suffered on Iranian soil in the opening round against Esteghlal by 3-0, before suffering a second defeat in the last round, this time at home against Al-Wasl of the Emirates 1-2.
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