The most luxurious AFC Champions League in history unveiled! The Saudi giants were both happy and worried, and the inner few were kept clean sheets, and Jeddah United won a big victory
On September 18, the Asian Champions League, which is regarded as the most luxurious in history, was unveiled. The first two favourites Jeddah United and Riyadh Crescent were a mixed event, with the former beating their opponents in Benzema's absence, while Riyadh Crescent struggled to draw at home.
The most luxurious Asian Champions League in history
The 2023-24 AFC Champions League is the most luxurious in history, and after the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, many Saudi teams invested a full 950 million euros in the summer window, second only to the Premier League, signing top superstars like Neymar and Benzema.
Riyadh Crescent, Jeddah National, Jeddah United and Riyadh Victory, four clubs owned by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF), all ranked in the top 20 of club spending, Riyadh Crescent with an investment of 353 million even ranked second, second only to Chelsea with an investment of 462 million, Jeddah National and Riyadh Victory ranked 8th and 10th respectively.
How luxurious is the Saudi team's squad? Taking Riyadh Victory as an example, because only 5 foreign signings were allowed to sign up in the AFC Champions League, Riyadh Victory had to give up two strong reinforcements, Taliska and Telles.
In addition to Saudi Arabia, other Middle Eastern clubs also have superstars, with Du Helle signing Coutinho and Sharjah signing Pjanic, which makes this season's AFC Champions League look particularly luxurious.
The AFC's official website states that "although the AFC Champions League has had World Cup winners like Rivaldo, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, there is no doubt that the 2023-24 AFC Champions League has more star players than ever before." ”
"Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Benzema are the three most recognizable players in world football in the past 20 years, while the Saudi league also has star players like Mane, N'Golo Kante and Fabinho. They have both won the Champions League before, and in the new season, they will be the first player to win both the AFC Champions League and the Champions League. ”
Compared to West Asian teams, which have many top players, East Asian teams are relatively more "shabby", and the AFC only names players such as Fellaini, Gomi, Songkrasin, Nam Tae Hee and Begsson.
In Benzema's absence, Jeddah United still won big
In the first round of the AFC Champions League group stage, Jeddah United won 3-0 at home against Almalek. Despite Benzema's absence due to minor injuries, the Jeddah United led by N'Golo Kante, Fabinho, Romarinho and Hamdala are still significantly stronger.
Just 10 minutes into the game, Kamara scored from the middle of the box to open the scoring for Jeddah United. Just four minutes later, Camara's shot was blocked by a defender, and Romarinho broke the ball and scored hard.
After Camara and Sankaiti missed a good chance, Hamdala was knocked down in the penalty area, and the referee looked back at the slow motion and awarded a penalty, and Romarinho scored from the penalty. After taking a big lead, Jeddah United noticeably slowed down in the second half and eventually opened the game with a 3-0 scoreline.
Neymar is dyed yellow, and the crescent moon in Riyadh is flat
Like Jeddah United, Riyadh Crescent was seen as favourites, but Riyadh Crescent came close to breaking out at home, drawing at home with Namangan's New Year.
Playing away from home and with a huge difference in strength, Namangan's conservative tactics in the new spring, not only all 11 returned to the half to defend, but also used foul tactics against core players such as Neymar, which did work. Despite possession at 75 percent, Riyadh Crescent was barely able to create a goalscoring chance.
In a situation that could not be attacked for a long time, Riyadh's victorious defense was torn apart by a counterattack from the opponent. In the 52nd minute, Tabatadze broke the deadlock with a right-footed shot after bursting into the box.
In the 59th minute, after being quickly free-kicked, Neymar pushed his opponent and kicked the ball towards his opponent, only to be yellow carded. The impetuous Neymar is the epitome of the Riyadh Crescent, and despite the disparity in strength, Namangan still got a valuable point away from home despite the disparity in strength.
It wasn't until the 10th minute of stoppage time that Blahi scored with a header to equalise for Riyadh Crescent. From the Champions League to the AFC Champions League, Neymar is seen as a dimensionality blow, not to mention his partners are Malcolm, Ruben Neves and Mitrovic. However, such a difficult draw with Namangan taught Neymar a good lesson.