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Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal set a world record for consecutive wins with 28 consecutive wins and advanced to the Asian Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday.
They won 2-0 against fellow Saudi Arabian team Al Ittihad, surpassing the record of 27 consecutive wins by a top team set by Welsh team New Saints in 2016.
Riyadh-based Hilal are the most successful team in AFC Champions League history, having already won four titles, winning 4-0 on aggregate in Jeddah.
Last year’s runners-up Hilal won the second leg of the quarter-finals at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium with second-half goals from Yasser Al Shahrani and Brazilian Malcom.
Hilal will face UAE side Al Ain in the last four next month after the 2003 champions beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nasr on penalties on Monday.
Ittihad’s miserable night was summed up just before the end of regular time when striker Abdellazak Hamdallah was booked for a second time for grabbing Hilal defender Ali Al Buraihi by the throat.
This conflict led to many clashes between players on opposing sides.
Ittihad, who won the Champions League in 2004 and 2005, were without many key players.
Karim Benzema, the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner signed from Real Madrid last summer, is again absent due to injury, while 2018 World Cup winner N’Golo Kante is suspended after being sent off in the first leg.
However, it was the current Saudi Pro League champions who posed the bigger threat for most of the match.
Ittihad almost scored the first goal in the 17th minute when Romarinho’s left-footed shot from just outside the Gilal penalty area hit the post.
At the beginning of the second half, Hilal’s goalkeeper Mohamed Al Owais was called twice. First, the Saudi international blocked a low counterattack from Marwan Al Sahafi, then jumped to his right and brilliantly parried Ahmed Al Ghamdi’s fierce drive.
Still, in the 61st minute, Hilal’s place in the semi-finals was in jeopardy.
Salem Al Dausari replaced Serbian international Sergei Milinkovic-Savic to feed Al Shahrani, who placed Ittihad goalkeeper Abdullah Al Mayouf in the lower half.
Malcom then pounced on Aleksandar Mitrovic’s through ball late in stoppage time to cap off a memorable night for the Riyadh giants.
Hilal, who lead the Saudi Professional League with 12 points, have won their last nine Champions League games. The last time they lifted the trophy was in 2021.
– Jeonbuk Ulsan-
Earlier on Tuesday, South Korean side Ulsan won the second leg against Jeonbuk Motors 1-0, defeating their compatriots 2-1 on aggregate to advance to the semi-finals.
With this result, Ulsan is one step closer to qualifying for next year’s expanded Club World Cup, which will include 32 teams in the United States.
Ulsan will play either Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos or China’s Shandong Taishan next month for a place in the Champions League final.
Seol Young-woo’s volley in first-half stoppage time was enough to settle a tense quarter-final second leg between the two teams, who have shared the last seven K League championships.
Yokohama and Shandong will play in Japan on Wednesday, with Harry Kewell’s Yokohama leading 2-1 after the first leg.
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