The second leg of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2019 Final took place at Saitama Stadium 2002 on Sunday 24 November, where Urawa Red Diamonds lost the match 0-2 against Al Hilal SFC (Saudi Arabia). Urawa lost the final with an aggregate score of 0-3, falling short from claiming their third ACL title.

For Al Hilal, this was their first Asian title since winning the Asian Club Championship in 2000 and became the first club from the Western division to win the ACL since 2011, when Al Sadd SC (Qatar) won the title. The team will represent Asia at the FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar next month. Also, Al Hilal’s striker, Bafetimbi GOMIS, scored 11 goals at the tournament to win both the MVP and the Top Scorer award.

In a match where Urawa needed to win with a two goal margin following their 0-1 loss in Riyadh, coach OTSUKI Tsuyoshi started the same line-up from the first leg, except for the goalkeeper’s position, where NISHIKAWA Shusaku returned from his suspension. With KOROKI Shinzo playing upfront, FABRICIO and NAGASAWA Kazuki sought to create chances by utilising their wingers HASHIOKA Daiki and SEKINE Takahiro, but it was the visiting side who took the initiative in the early minutes of the match.

After arriving in Japan on Monday 18, Al Hilal started the same line-up from the first leg, as Gomis played upfront as the lone striker with Sebastian GIOVINCO, Andre CARRILLO, Salem AL-DAWSARI, and Salman AL-FARAJ playing beneath him. With the Saudi Arabian side winning most of the second balls and showing great combinations in offence, Urawa struggled to pick up their pace, as their defenders SUZUKI Daisuke, MAKINO Tomoaki, and IWANAMI Takuya, were kept busy responding to the opposing attacks.

Following a scoreless first half, both teams gradually picked up their pace in offence. While Urawa collected the ball to Koroki to create chances, Al Hilal sought for their opportunities by sending the ball to Gomis. In the 56th minute, Fabricio responded to a cross delivered from the right flank, but his header was saved by the opposing goalkeeper.

In efforts to change the dynamics of the match, Urawa sent KASHIWAGI Yosuke and SUGIMOTO Kenyu onto the pitch in the 63rd and 71st minute respectively. However, Al Hilal continued to show their dominance over the home side, as Giovinco and Gomis kept the pressure upfront to threaten the Urawa goal.

Despite showing a persistent effort to keep the clean sheet, the Urawa defence was finally breached in the 74th minute, when Carrillo, Al-Faraj, and Giovinco connected the ball with great pace, before sending the ball towards the centre, where Al-Dawsari converted the delivery to give his side the lead. Al Hilal went onto score another goal in additional time, where Gomis capitalised on a cross delivered by Carrillo, giving the Saudi Arabian side a 2-0 victory.

Coaches and Players' Comments

OTSUKI Tsuyoshi, Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds)
I would like to congratulate Al Hilal for their victory. After dropping the first leg, we entered this match with the intention to come from behind, but we failed to score a goal in the first half, which left us with no choice but to push forward in the second half, and more so after we conceded the first goal. This was a very difficult match. Leading to this match, each of our matches could have gone either way, and we were able to make it this far because of the tireless efforts showcased by our players, so I am very thankful for their hard work. I feel sorry that I couldn’t lead them to a victory at this final. Although we were able to prepare ourselves well from the first leg to the second leg, we weren’t given the opportunity to hold a training camp ahead of the first leg, which was something we can look into as a club, especially knowing that it was conducted in the past. It is important that we share these experiences for the development of the Japanese football community as a whole.

GK NISHIKAWA Shusaku (Urawa Red Diamonds)
Our opponent had the upper-hand in terms of team strengths and individual strengths over us. Their foreign players also created a huge difference, and this was a very disappointing loss for us. We saw many areas we need to improve on, and we must feed off of this experience to become a better team.

DF IWANAMI Takuya (Urawa Red Diamonds)
We really couldn’t afford to concede a goal, so our key to success depended on how long we can keep the match scoreless. Our opponents played with great intensity, and although they started to show signs of fatigue in the first leg, their intensity didn’t drop in this match. In every aspect, they had the upper-hand over us.

DF SUZUKI Daisuke (Urawa Red Diamonds)
We wanted to pick up our momentum through our defence, especially when our opponent came out applying more numbers upfront in the second half. However, we ended up conceding counterattacks while we tried building our momentum. Al Hilal was the better team, both at the team level and the individual level.

MF SEKINE Takahiro (Urawa Red Diamonds)
We were completely shut down by their defence. This was the first time I felt so overwhelmed by our opponent, and I wasn’t able to do anything during these two matches. It reminded me that I still have long ways to go as a player.

MF ABE Yuki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
Losing the final doesn’t erase what we have accomplished up to that point, so I want to stay positive about our journey leading to the final. We were given the opportunity to face a very strong team at the final, so we must take back what we felt and learned through these matches and implement the experience to become a better player.

Razvan LUCESCU, Coach (Al Hilal SFC)
I want to thank Gomis for scoring so many goals for us. I am very happy for this victory, especially after playing so many tough matches. We fought hard as a club to earn this title, but we couldn’t have achieved this feat without our players, so I am very thankful for their efforts.

FW Bafetimbi GOMIS (Al Hilal SFC)
I am happy to win the MVP, but more than anything, I am happy that our team won the title. We were just a group of good players at first, but our coach taught us how to fight as a team and allowed us to become a strong team. He brought me and the first Asian title in 20 years to this club. I am very thankful to my coach.

Tournament Dates:
Play-offs: Tue. 5 - Tue. 19 February 2019
Group Stage: Mon. 4 March - Wed. 22 May 2019
Round of 16: Tue. 18 June - Tue. 13 August 2019
Quarterfinals: Tue. 27 August - Wed. 18 September 2019
Semi-finals: Tue. 1 - Wed. 23 October 2019
Final: 1st Leg/Sat. 9 November 2019, 2nd Leg/Sun. 24 November 2019

Tournament Information