LONDON: Bafetimbi Gomis has called on Al-Hilal not to get ahead of themselves after they beat Al-Duhail 3-1 in the AFC Champions League.
That victory was the Riyadh club’s second straight win in this year’s competition and leaves them top of Group C, three points ahead of the Qatari club and five ahead of UAE champions Al-Ain and Iran outfit Esteghlal F.C.
Al-Duhail’s new signing Shoya Nakajima’s 75th-minute strike had canceled out a first-half Carlos Eduardo goal, but Ali Al-Bulayhi put the hosts ahead again in the 77th minute. Gomis, one of the stars of the show, then put the result beyond doubt with a well-taken finish with 10 minutes left at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh.
It was yet another impressive performance from Al-Hilal, the sort of showing that has already made them one of the favorites to go all the way in the AFC Champions League this year.
But keen to keep his teammates’ feet on the ground, the Riyadh giants’ big summer signing has warned them to focus on the job at hand and take it one match at a time.
“It was a team job (against Al-Duhail),” the French striker said. “The staff, the players, the fans — together we’re stronger. Keep our focus lads.” He added: “Thanks to the fans for your support.”
Al-Hilal’s form in the continental competition this year is in stark contrast to 12 months ago when, having reached the final of Asia’s premier club competition just months before, they fell at the first hurdle, exiting at the group stage.
What has made the performances all the more impressive is that they have beaten both UAE and Qatar champions without four key men. Omar Abdulrahman, Salman Al-Faraj, Abdullah Otayf and Nawaf Al-Abed are all currently out of action with injuries.
Al-Hilal’s next continental clash is away to Esteghlal on April 8.
Gomis tells Al-Hilal heroes to keep feet on the ground
Gomis tells Al-Hilal heroes to keep feet on the ground
- It was the Riyadh club’s second straight win in this year’s competition and leaves them top of Group C, three points ahead of the Qatari club
- Gomis, one of the stars of the show, put the result beyond doubt with a well-taken finish with 10 minutes left at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh
Liverpool thrash West Ham but Salah’s Premier League goal drought up to 10 games
- Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo all scored for Liverpool
- Salah’s last league goal for Liverpool was way back on Nov. 1 against Aston Villa
LONDON: Mohamed Salah’s run of Premier League games without scoring is up to 10.
Fortunately for the Egypt star, his Liverpool teammates had no problem finding the net in a 5-2 thrashing of West Ham on Saturday that continued the defending champion’s midseason recovery.
Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo all scored for Liverpool, which also forced an own-goal as the team racked up more than four goals in a league game for the first time this season.
Liverpool have won four games in a row in all competitions and six in their last seven — the only blip being the home loss to Manchester City. Arne Slot’s side moved level on points with fourth-placed Manchester United, which play on Sunday at home to Crystal Palace.
Salah’s last league goal for Liverpool was way back on Nov. 1 against Aston Villa. It’s his longest scoring drought in the competition since joining from Roma in 2017.
On a high-scoring day in the Premier League, Brentford gave up a three-goal lead before grabbing a stoppage-time winner through Mikkel Damsgaard to beat next-to-last Burnley 4-3 — though there was late drama as Ashley Barnes thought he equalized in the final seconds only for his goal to be ruled out by VAR.
Everton won at Newcastle 3-2 and Bournemouth’s unbeaten run stretched to eight games by fighting back to draw with Sunderland 1-1.
