AL-AIN, UAE: Hernan Crespo’s Al Ain steamrollered 10-man Yokohama F-Marinos 5-1 in the Asian Champions League final return leg to lift the trophy for the second time in their history on Saturday.
The hosts trailed 2-1 from the away fixture but two goals from Soufiane Rahimi, a Kaku penalty and Kodjo Laba’s late double ensured a 6-3 aggregate victory after Yokohama goalkeeper William Popp saw red just before half-time.
Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates’ most successful club, won the inaugural Champions League final in 2003 and were runners-up in 2005 and 2016.
Harry Kewell’s Yokohama were attempting to become the fourth Japanese winners after Gamba Osaka, Kashima Antlers and three-time winners Urawa Red Diamonds.
The win will be all the sweeter for Crespo after the 2005 European Champions League final, when the ex-Argentina international scored twice for AC Milan before Kewell’s Liverpool came back to win on penalties.
Crespo had promised “hell” for Yokohama and thousands of fans in white robes and headdresses let off flares and chanted outside before packing out Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
With temperatures still hovering above 30 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) at the 8:00 p.m. kick-off, Al Ain were ahead after just nine minutes.
Yahia Nader’s sweet backheel wrong-footed the defense and tournament top-scorer Rahimi rifled a low shot into the net for his 12th of the competition.
Ken Matsubara had a fizzing shot tipped wide but Al Ain doubled their advantage in the 34th minute after Shinnosuke Hatanaka brought down Rahimi in the box.
After a VAR review, Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev pointed to the spot and Paraguay international Kaku smashed it into the bottom right, sparking delirium in the stands.
Al Ain’s joy was doused as Yokohama’s Yan Matheus stole a bouncing ball from Kouame Kouadio, then turned the defender inside-out and finished left-footed to make it 2-1 and 3-3 on aggregate.
But the half — which stretched to an extraordinary 62 minutes — finished badly for Yokohama when goalkeeper William Popp felled the on-rushing Rahimi and was sent off deep into injury time.
After the restart, a depleted Yokohama lived dangerously when Hatanaka, under pressure from Rahimi, parried a deep cross onto his own crossbar.
The visitors were creaking and on 67 minutes, Rahimi picked up a rebound, rounded a defender and lashed it past substitute ‘keeper Fuma Shirasaka at his near post.
The goal knocked the stuffing out of Yokohama, who also had Hatanaka stretchered off, and Togolese substitute Laba pierced their porous defense twice in another long spell of injury time.
Al Ain had already won bragging rights over neighboring Saudi Arabia, whose teams spent more than a billion dollars on players including Cristiano Ronaldo last year, with their Asian campaign.
Crespo’s side ousted Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in the quarter-finals before halting Al Hilal’s top-flight-record streak of 34 consecutive wins when they met in the semis.
With their victory, Al Ain also reach the new-look, 32-team Club World Cup, whose inaugural staging is scheduled for June and July next year in the United States.
Crespo’s Al Ain beat Yokohama 5-1 to win Asian Champions League
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Crespo’s Al Ain beat Yokohama 5-1 to win Asian Champions League
- Al Ain won the inaugural Champions League final in 2003 and were runners-up in 2005 and 2016
- Crespo had promised “hell” for Yokohama and thousands of fans in white robes and headdresses let off flares and chanted outside before packing out Hazza bin Zayed Stadium
Al-Ahli topple Al-Ittihad in Sea Derby as late Al-Hilal rout sees off Al-Najma
- Al-Ahli defeat rivals Al-Ittihad 3-1 in thrilling derby at Al-Inma Stadium
- Al-Hilal struggle against Al-Najma but three goals in final 10 minutes leads them to 4-0 victory
JEDDAH: The Saudi Pro League title race showed no signs of slowing on Friday as Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal played simultaneously in search of staying within touching distance of league leaders Al-Nassr, who play on Saturday.
While Al-Hilal took on Al-Najma, Al-Ahli’s weekend was about more than just three points. Waiting for them at Al-Inma Stadium were city rivals and defending champions Al-Ittihad.
For Al-Ittihad, this fixture was largely about pride. Their title defence has all but come to an end, with 19 points separating them and the summit heading into the Sea Derby.
Yet as shown in their 1-1 draw weeks prior against Al-Hilal while playing with a man down, Al-Ittihad tend to rise to the occasion in the bigger games regardless of their position on the table.
Al-Ahli did take control of proceedings through their high press, but the Tigers responded with confidence and urgency. A difficult season does not mean allowing your archrivals to take three points with ease, after all.
Matthias Jaissle, however, has converted Al-Ahli into one of the league’s most cohesive sides over the past three years. Some would even argue that despite never holding first place this season, they have indeed been the best team in the league.
That showed in the 23rd minute. Galeno was released into the space behind Muhannad Al-Shanqiti before delivering a low cross to Ivan Toney, who continued his prolific campaign with his 24th goal of the season.
Calls for a VAR review followed, as Houssem Aouar was brought down in the box prior to the goal. Referee Nikola Dabanovic ruled there was no infringement, and Al-Ahli led 1-0.
Al-Ittihad emerged after the interval with renewed vigour. Steven Bergwijn calmly held Zakaria Hawsawi on the edge of the box, tempting him into a foul that Dabanovic judged worthy of a penalty.
Fabinho stepped up and powered the ball past Edouard Mendy to equalise for The Tigers in the 51st minute. For a brief moment, there was hope. If Al-Ittihad could derail Al-Ahli’s title push and go on to win the AFC Champions League Elite later this season, this match could yet prove significant.
Those hopes lasted less than 10 minutes. Al-Ahli’s trademark pass into the channel released Galeno once again, and his low cross rolled across the face of goal to Riyad Mahrez.
The Algerian — who had repeatedly troubled the defence with his movement inside — made no mistake this time, restoring the hosts’ lead in the 59th minute.
Al-Ittihad came close on several occasions, but the match rarely felt out of Al-Ahli’s control for long. Their relentless press ultimately sealed the result when substitute Feras Al-Brikan disposessed Predrag Rajkovic and slotted home into an open net in the 84th minute.
Al-Hilal, meanwhile, endured a far more difficult night against bottom-placed Al-Najma. A glance at the scoreline suggests total dominance for Al-Hilal, but the reality was quite different.
Make no mistake, Al-Hilal created several openings, yet repeatedly lacked the decisive final touch. Salem Al-Dawsari’s decision to square the ball to Karim Benzema while through on goal summed up their struggles in front of the net.
It wasn’t until Nasser Al-Haleel received a red card in the 39th minute for pulling down Al-Dawsari as the last defender that Al-Hilal began to shift gears.
Four minutes later, Al-Dawsari made amends for his earlier mistake by setting up Benzema for first goal at Kingdom Arena.
Even with the numerical advantage, Al-Hilal produced one of their least convincing performances of the season. Fortunately for them, Al-Najma offered little attacking threat, registering just one shot across the 90 minutes.
They eventually collapsed in the final 10 minutes, as Benzema, Malcom and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic all scored within a six-minute spell, lifting Al-Hilal’s goal difference to +43 — a vital factor in a tital race where Al-Nassr sit on +46.
The victories move Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal to 62 and 61 points respectively, with Al-Nassr sandwiched between them on 61 ahead of their clash against NEOM.
Elsewhere, Al-Taawoun defeated Al-Fateh 3-2 in a match that saw the visitors mount a late rally but ultimately fall short of completing the comeback. Meanwhile, Greek duo Giorgos Masouras and Kostas Fortounis both found the net as Al-Khaleej secured a 2-1 victory over Al-Hazem.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Saturday, with four clashes kicking off at 10:00pm. Al-Ettifaq host Al-Shabab, Al-Kholood take on Al-Qadsiah, Al-Okhdood welcome Al-Fayha, and Al-Nassr aim to maintain their spot at the top against NEOM.
