In a one-sided match, Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia achieved victory over Al-Gharafa by three unanswered goals in the confrontation that brought the two teams together yesterday evening at the Kingdom Arena Stadium in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in the matches of the sixth round of the elite AFC Champions League. Al-Hilal’s hat-trick was scored by Leonardo in the 18th minute, and Mitrovic in the match. The 82nd minute and Sergey in the 85th minute, with that result Al Hilal’s score reached 16 points in first place and had guaranteed its qualification to the next round, while Al Gharafa’s score stopped at 4 points in tenth place, making his mission in the continental championship difficult.
The first half was miserable in terms of control, scoring, and wasting opportunities against the Panthers goalkeeper, Rico, relying on the fiery offensive line. In the 16th minute, Malcolm almost scored the first goal with a header, but the Al-Gharafa goalkeeper capably blocked it and turned it into a corner kick, and two minutes later, Al-Zaeem scored the first goal of the confrontation. The player Leonardo crossed after receiving a cross from the right side through the player Yasser Al-Shahrani, and despite Al-Gharafa’s delay, he did not show any significant offensive teeth. Rather, Al Hilal wasted two opportunities achieved by player Malcolm in the 41st minute with a shot inside the penalty area that was brilliantly blocked by Rico, and in stoppage time of the first half, the same player wasted an opportunity that hit the crossbar, ending the first half with Al Hilal leading with an unanswered goal.
In the second half, Al Hilal’s pressure and intense attempts on the goal continued to advance the goal, while the Panthers’ offensive fangs were absent, and Brahimi, Koeman, and Joselu were unable to break Al Hilal’s strong defences. In the 82nd minute, substitute Mitrovic scored the second goal for Al Hilal with a shot that the Al Gharafa goalkeeper did not succeed in catching, and three later. Minutes later, Al Hilal scored the third goal, the other substitute, Sergei, with a header, ending the confrontation with a Hilal hat-trick.
