In the early morning of April 18, Beijing time, a key match in the semifinals of the AFC Champions League was played by Al Ain against Riyadh Crescent at home. In the end, Riyadh Crescent suffered a 2-4 defeat to Al Ain, ending a 34-game winning streak in all competitions and on the verge of going out, and it became more and more difficult for Neymar to continue to win the title. If nothing else, Al Ain will meet Ulsan HD in the final.
In the group stage, both teams qualified for the first place, and then in the knockout round, Riyadh Crescent eliminated Sepahan and Jeddah United respectively, and Al Ain eliminated Nassaf and Riyadh Victory respectively, and the two teams met in the semifinals.
This is a matchup between the champion teams, Al Ain won the 2003 edition, and Riyadh Crescent has won the championship four times, which can be called the first giant in the AFC Champions League. Now, the two teams have met again in the AFC Champions League after 5 years, and they have won and lost in the past.
It was originally a close game, but as a result, Riyadh Crescent was beaten frantically in the away game, and it was already 3 goals behind at halftime.
In the sixth minute, Nadir assisted Rahimi to push a shot into the far corner to help Al Ain get off to a dream start 1-0.
In the 26th minute, Rahimi made a penalty and then scored a brace to help Al Ain score 2-0.
In the 38th minute, Riyadh Crescent sent another point, Eric was kicked down in the penalty area, and Rahimi scored a penalty to complete the hat, helping Al Ain to expand the score 3-0.
In the second half, the two teams frantically attacked, Malcolm helped Riyadh Crescent pull one back, and then Kaku scored from the penalty spot, and Dawasari scored at the last moment to help Riyadh Crescent chase another goal 2-4, but he still couldn't complete the reversal, and it was also related to the three penalties awarded in the game.
The defeat brought an end to Riyadh Crescent's 34-game winning streak in all competitions, having scored 100 goals and conceded just 15.
Last month, Riyadh Crescent surpassed the Welsh side The New Saints' record for the longest winning streak in football set in 2016 after winning 28 consecutive matches, and has since continued to break records, only to be unexpectedly halted by Al Ain.
The other semi-final matchup will be played by Ulsan HD at home against Yokohama Marinos. Because Shandong Taishan was killed by Yokohama Mariners four times in a row, they missed the opportunity to advance to the semifinals of the AFC Champions League for the first time, and also missed the opportunity to compete with Ulsan HD to compete for the final qualification.
In the 19th minute of the first half, Joo Min-gyu assisted Lee Dong-hyung to follow up with a low shot to help Ulsan HD take a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Ulsan HD continued to control the situation, with Joo Min-gyu and Lee Dong-hyung hitting the post twice in 1 minute, and Joo Min-gyu scoring a goal that was blown offside. In the end, Ulsan HD defeated Yokohama Mariners 1-0 at home, and only a draw in the second leg was needed to advance to the final.