RONALDO’S Al Nassr side have reached the final of the AFC Champions League 2 following a 5-1 win against Qatari side Al Ahli SC at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai.
The Saudi Pro League side have been the competition’s favourites since they qualified for the tournament last season and looked well worth their hype following their 4-0 quarter-final victory against Al Wasl on Sunday.
Al Ahli SC looked to cause an upset in Dubai on the back of their comfortable 3-1 victory against Jordanian side Al Hussein.
And it looked like the Qatari side may have gotten their wish when Iñigo Martínez gave away a penalty and booking just five minutes in having pulled Erik Expósito to the ground.
Julian Draxler’s subsequent penalty was poor and was comfortably saved by Bento in goal. However, this did not deter Al Ahli who opened the scoring just ten minutes in. Sekou Yansané collected the ball out wide before dribbling through the Al Nassr defense and curling a perfect shot into the bottom corner.
It took just three passes from Ronaldo’s kick-off before Al Nassr had equalised. A brilliantly timed run from Ângelo was met by an even better through ball by Sadio Mane before being cut back for Kingsley Coman to tap the ball into an empty net.
Al Nassr’s pressure mounted and they thought they had a second goal before the 20th minute, however the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) determined that Brozovic had committed a foul and ruled out the goal
They did not need to wait long before they got their second. Ângelo was slipped in behind by Sadio Mané before coolly slotting the ball under the keeper.
On the stroke of half-time, Coman had his second of the evening. A low cross from João Félix was not dealt with properly, leaving Coman with a simple shot to extend Al Nassr’s lead.
Coman completed his hat-trick midway through the second half. A good through ball was met with perfect control and a composed finish into the bottom corner, all but sending Al Ahli home.
Al Ahli’s fate was sealed in the 80th minute. Ângelo skipped past his marker and delivered a delicious ball into the box which, was gobbled up by Abdullah Al-Hamdan.
Al Nassr’s manager Jorge Jesus feels his side have done the hardest part of the competition so far, “Reaching the final only happens for two good teams, and in the end only one team is crowned champion. The hardest part is reaching the final, and anything can happen.”
Al Awwal Park, Riyadh, will be the venue for this season’s AFC Champions League 2 final, with Al Nassr set to face Japanese side Gamba Osaka on the 16th of May.
