Alhilal defeated RTHad 2-0 to advance to the ALC semifinals
Al-Hilal, the runner-up in the 2022 tournament, won 2-0 in the second leg of the 2023-2024 ACL quarterfinals against Al-Tihad at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the 13th (Korea time).
Al-Hilal, who won 2-0 in the first leg, had a "ticket to the semifinals" as he made a combined 4-0 in the first and second games.
As a result, Al Hilal will meet Al Ain (United Arab Emirates), where defensive midfielder Park Yong-woo from the Korean national team plays, in the semifinals to compete for the much-awaited final.
Al-Hilal is a powerhouse in the Middle East who won the ALC four times (1991, 2000, 2019, 2021) and the runner-up five times (1986, 1987, 2014, 2017 and 2022). In the final round of the previous competition, he lost to the Urawa Reds (Japan) and was the runner-up.
In particular, Al-Hilal held the record for "the most consecutive wins ever" when he beat Al-Tihad on the same day.
Since drawing 1-1 with Damak in the Saudi League on September 21 last year, Al-Hilal has won 28 consecutive games, beating the previous record of 27 consecutive wins set by The New Saints in the Welsh Premier League in the 2016-2017 season.
Alhilal set a new record for "28 consecutive wins" by winning 16 consecutive games in the regular league, 3 consecutive wins in the 2023-2024 King Cup, and 9 consecutive wins in the 2023-2024 ACL.
Al-Hilal, whose "superstar" Neymar was out of the battle due to an anterior cruciate ligament surgery in October last year, faced Al-Hilal with striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who played for Fulham (England) and Serbia's national team, midfielder Huweng Neves, who worked with Hwang Hee-chan at Wolverhampton (England), and former Brazilian national team striker Maucong Silva.
"Saudi League rival" RITHAD suffered a severe power leak as even "Veteran midfielder" N'Golo Kante, who was sent off in the first round, was absent while "goaler" Karim Benzema was out of the second round due to injury following the first round.
Al-Hilal, who finished the first half without scoring, took the lead in the 16th minute of the second half when Yasser Al Sharhani scored the first goal with a right-footed shot from the left side of the goal area.
In the extra time of the second half, Al-Itihad collapsed on its own when striker Abderazak Hamdallah was sent off after struggling with Al-Hilal defender Ali al-Bulaihi, who roughly competed for the ball in the air against him.
Al-Hilal, who gained a numerical advantage, confirmed his advance to the semifinals by scoring a wedge goal at the end of the second half's extra time.
https://www.outlookindia.com/outlook-spotlight/2023%EB%85%84-11%EC%9B%94-%EB%A9%94%EC%9D%B4%EC%A0%80-%ED%86%A0%ED%86%A0%EC%82%AC%EC%9D%B4%ED%8A%B8-%EC%88%9C%EC%9C%84-%EC%B6%94%EC%B2%9C-%ED%86%A0%ED%86%A0-%EC%95%88%EC%A0%84%EB%86%80%EC%9D%B4%ED%84%B0-top15-news-332207