Al-Hilal thrashed Al-Shorta of Iraq 5-0 on Tuesday to make it two wins out of two in the AFC Champions League Elite, and three for three matchday 2 wins for Saudi clubs in Asia’s premier club tournament.
Following victories on Monday for Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli, four-time winners of the competition Al-Hilal never looked to be in any danger in front of their home fans in Riyadh as they delivered a clinical, comprehensive victory without ever really breaking sweat and with each of the goals scored by a different player.
It was a ninth successive win in all competitions for the Saudi Pro League leaders and defending champions, who are once again starting to look very ominous, even at this early stage of the season, not only domestically but in the continental competition.
Their opening goal did not take long to arrive; 11 minutes, in fact. Aleksandar Mitrovic headed the ball across the face of goal for fellow Serbian Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who was coming in at the near post. His shot, from almost point-blank range, was well-saved by Ahmed Basil but Marcos Leonardo, signed from Benfica just a month ago as cover for the injured Neymar, was waiting to bundle the ball into the net from the rebound.
It was the perfect start and things got even better for Al-Hilal just four minutes later. Brazilian left-back Renan Lodi struggled to impress last season after arriving from Marseille in January but has looked much more settled this time around. He clipped a cross toward the near post from just outside a crowded area and Mitrovic was able to get in front of the defense to head home.
What had been a big ask for the Iraqis was starting to look like a mission impossible. Even when they did manage to make it into their opponents’ half, Kalidou Koulibaly or Ali Al-Bulaihi always seemed to be waiting to tidy up and eliminate any threat. Hussein Ali did manage a shot that went wide but that was about the extent of the Iraqis’ chances.
Any lingering hopes Al-Shorta, who held Al-Nassr to a draw two weeks ago, might have had of getting back into the game were extinguished five minutes after the restart. Mitrovic played the ball on the edge of the area and it fell to Salem Al-Dawsari whose first-time, low shot headed smoothly into the bottom corner of the net.
Midway through the second half things almost got worse for the visitors when Leonardo broke into the penalty area and fired home from close range. However, the offside flag was up.
The home fans did not have too long to wait for a fourth goal. In the 73rd minute, Malcom did all the hard work on the right side before slipping the ball through to Portuguese international Joao Cancelo, who advanced to the near post and then pulled a pass across goal, where substitute Nasser Al-Dawsari made no mistake from the closest of range. He could not miss.
Another sub, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, came close to adding a fifth but the goalkeeper took the ball from his feet. Then a Cancelo shot from outside the area went just over the bar.
Right at the end, Al-Hilal did grab their fifth of the night and it was the best of the lot. Mohammed Kanno exchanged passes with Mohammed Al-Qahtani on the edge of the area and then bent the return into the top corner of the goal. It was the perfect end to a perfect evening.
On the evidence so far, with eight goals in two games and only one conceded, Al-Hilal are going to take some stopping.
