AL AHLI booked their place in a second consecutive AFC Champions League Elite final with a 2-1 comeback win over Vissel Kobe in Jeddah.
The knockout phase of the competition has been held in a centralised format in Saudi Arabia since the 2024/25 season, with games being played at the homes of Al Ahli and Al Ittihad. The Royals would look to take advantage of their “home” despite being the designated away team for the fixture.
Vissel Kobe were determined not to let Al Ahli roll them over, which was evident in the 11th minute when Makoto Mitsuta was fed the ball through but his tame shot was blocked by Ibanez.
Al Ahli looked like they might be the masters of their own downfall, when Ibanez needlessly gave the ball away in his own half, however Yoshinori Muto’s pass was mistimed and found Yuya Osako who was in an offside position.
The pressure from Vissel Kobe finally paid off when Katsuya Nagato’s perfect cross beat the Al Ahli offside trap and was headed back across goal to an unmarked Muto who slotted the ball under Edward Mendy to give the team from Japan the lead.
The momentum was now with the 2024 J-League champions. A goal kick was misread by Demiral and then Ibanez left left Daiju Sasaki through on goal, but Mendy stood tall to deny him.
That Vissel Kobe pressure continued into the second half. Two minutes in and they found themselves with a dangerous free kick which was well defended by Demiral.
Ivan Toney thought he had Al Ahli level in the 50th minute, however VAR determined he was in an offside position.
The momentum had fully shifted, and Al Ahli’s quarter-final hero Galeno had the Royals level with an absolute screamer from 30 yards out. Galeno whose spectacular goal in the previous game proved to be the winner had now turned the game on its head.
It took all but eight minutes for Al Ahli to take the lead through their main man Ivan Toney. The Saudi league’s top goal scorer took advantage of a goalkeeping howler and tapped the ball in at the near post to put Al Ahli in pole position.
Vissel Kobe looked deflated and defeated and at no point after Toney’s goal provide any sort of threat as the Jeddah based side reached their second ever ACLE final, where they will play either UAE outfit Shabab Al Ahli or Japanese side Machida Zelvia on Saturday.
