Al Hilal Make it Two Wins Against Al Ittihad in Four Days With 2-0 AFC Champions League Quarter Final First Leg Win
In an all-Saudi AFC Champions League quarter-final, league leaders Al Hilal emerged the victors with a 2-0 win over Al Ittihad. Al Hilal have now won twice against Al Ittihad in four days after their 3-1 victory in the league on Friday.
Aleksandar Mitrovic marked his return to the starting 11 after serving a domestic ban with a 40th-minute penalty. Two minutes later, Saudi international Salem Al Dawsari made it 2-0 following an impressive team move.
With the two goals, Al Hilal will head into the second leg with a healthy two-goal advantage. Al Ittihad was dealt the additional blow of heading into the second leg without their key man in midfield, World Cup winner N’Golo Kante, who was sent off in the 66th minute. The former Chelsea midfielder tackled his former teammate Kalidou Koulibaly, and following VAR, the referee gave him his marching orders.
Al Hilal is now well-placed to meet the winner of the Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia)-Al-Ain (UAE) contest in the semi-final. Should Al Nassr overcome the one-goal deficit in the second leg, the semi-final will be an all-Saudi affair.
