Al Hilal's blue walkers bring the storm to conquer Gwangju's dragons
Jeddah may not have been a land of always winter, but all the same, Al Hilal were not afraid to bring the storm in the 33 degrees heat to conquer South Korea's Gwangju FC. An emphatic 7-0 triumph saw the Riyadh powerhouse reign supreme at the expense of the Korean side with a dragon for a logo as 48,714 fans raised a 'Game of Thrones' inspired 'Night King' tifo at Alinma Stadium on Friday.
Seven different players left their blue hand mark on goalkeeper Kim Kyeong-min's net as Al Hilal became the first Roshn Saudi League representatives to book their place in the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals, moving a step closer to the throne they previously assumed four times.
It took just six minutes for the four-time continental champions to take the lead when Salem Al Dawsari delivered a cross from the corner towards the near post where Sergej Milinkovic-Savic awaited to climb highest and guide his header into the back of the Korean net.
Yassine Bounou proved his value minutes later when a defensive mistake allowed Albanian winger Jasir Asani to break free, finding himself in acres of space and plenty of time to finish, only for the Moroccan keeper to deny him with an exceptional right-foot save.
The opposition goalkeeper responded in kind, producing three consecutive top drawer saves to deny Al Dawsari, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Milinkovic-Savic as Al Hilal piled up the pressure in the opening half-hour.
Marcos Leonardo doubled the Blues' lead in style midway through the first half after a fine passing move saw Malcom drill a low cross from the right for his compatriot who found the bottom corner with a first-time finish.
As the home fans raised a stunning tifo inspired by Game of Thrones character 'The Night King', they were rewarded with an equally special goal from club captain Al Dawsari. A well-worked counter attack saw Leonardo feed the number 29 down the left and the veteran embarked on a 40-yard run, beating the last man and calmly slotting past the goalkeeper for 3-0.
𝗛𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲. 𝗛𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘄. 𝗛𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱.🇸🇦 Salem Al Dawsari. Always leading by example!#ACLElite | #HILvGWA pic.twitter.com/OKrC8H5Xzh
— #ACLElite | #ACLTwo (@TheAFCCL) April 25, 2025
Jorge Jesus' men suffered a blow late in the first half with Joao Cancelo suffering a muscular injury and leaving his place for Yasser Al Shahrani.
After the restart, the record AFC Champions League Elite winners picked up exactly where they left off, with their Serbian duo combining for the fourth. Milinkovic-Savic moved in space down the right and picked out his international teammate Mitrovic who hammered home his sixth goal of the competition.
Malcom joined the party, adding his name to the scoresheet with 11 minutes to go. The Brazilian exchanged passes with Mitrovic and moved through on goal, before powering in his finish past the hands of the Korean goalkeeper.
Substitute Nasser Al Dawsari rounded up the scoring five minutes from time. With he Koreans attempting to play the ball from the back, Kaio Cesar intercepted the ball deep in the Gwangju half and after his initial effort was parried by the goalkeeper, Mitrovic set up Al Dawsari whose drilled effort took a deflection and ended up in the back of the net for the sixth.
There was still time for Abdullah Al Hamdan to bag the seventh before the end of 90. Another Mitrovic assist set-up the Saudi international who did not hesitate to blast it in from the edge of the box.
POTM goes to The Sergeant 🫡Well deserved 👏💙 pic.twitter.com/1QmknhT8RJ
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) April 25, 2025
With one challenge out of the away, Al Hilal await the winner between fellow RSL side Al Ahli and Thailand's Buriram United who face-off on Saturday before Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr take on Japan's Yokohama F. Marinos in the later kick-off on the same day.
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