The first leg of the AFC Champions League (ACL) 2022 final took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 29 April, where Urawa Red Diamonds, who are seeking to win the Asian title for the first time since the 2017 competition, faced the defending champions, Al Hilal SFC. Despite conceding the opener in the first half, KOROKI Shinzo's second-half goal gave the visitors a 1-1 draw.

The second leg will be played at Urawa's home ground, Saitama Stadium 2002, on Saturday 6 May. With Urawa scoring a goal away from home, they are now in position to win the title with a win or a 0-0 draw at home. In case of 1-1, the two teams will be tied on aggregate, so the match will go to extra time.

This is the third time that these two teams have met in the final, after 2017, when Urawa won, and 2019, when Al Hilal won. Both Urawa and Al Hilal are fighting for their third ACL title, the most in the competition's history.

The first leg of the ACL final, which returned to a home-and-away format after three years following the Corona pandemic, saw more than 50,000 people gather at King Fahd International Stadium. With the exception of one section occupied by Urawa supporters, the stands were filled with local fans in the light blue Al Hilal team colours.

Al Hilal, led by Odion IGHALO and Moussa MAREGA, who combined for six goals in the semi-final against Al-Duhail SC (Qatar) in February, with Brazilian MICHAEL on the right and Saudi international Salem ALDAWSARI on the left, started the game by applying intense pressure to push Urawa back into their own territory.

The defending champions took the lead in the 13th minute, when a cross delivered by Michael deflected off an Urawa defender before finding Aldawsari, who scored a left-footed shot from the far side.

With momentum on their side, Al Hilal continued to dominate the ball possession, but led by SAKAI Hiroki, who made his return from an injury, the Urawa defence showed great composure to keep the home side from scoring the second goal.

Despite their early struggles, Urawa gradually adapted to the pitch condition, creating more and more opportunities in the attacking third. In the 30th minute, AKIMOTO Takahiro connected with a cross delivered by ITO Atsuki to strike a header, followed by an attempt made by KOIZUMI Yoshio before the 40th minute mark.

Urawa, who had been kept scoreless in the first half, showed more aggression in the second half, and the long-awaited goal came in the 53rd minute.

A long ball from Marius HOIBRATEN was contested by SEKINE Takahiro, allowing Koizumi to deliver the ball to IWAO Ken, who passed it to OKUBO Tomoaki. The through ball delivered by Okubo took a deflection off a Al Hilal defender and struck the left post, in which Koroki responded to send the ball into the net. Koroki has now scored a total of 27 ACL goals, the most of any Japanese player in the ACL.

Desperately needing a win at home, Al Hilal rallied by creating a number of opportunities, including the attempt made by Michael off of a cross sent by Mohammed AL-BREIK in the 60th minute, but the Brazilian’s header went straight into the hands of Urawa goalkeeper NISHIKAWA Shusaku. Marega also came close in the 66th minute, but Nishikawa made a finger-tip save to deny this attempt.

In efforts to keep the Al Hilal offence at bay, Urawa introduced YASUI Kaito and Jose KANTE in the 67th minute, OGIWARA Takuya and HAYAKAWA Jumpei in the 81st minute, and SHIBATO Kai in the 85th minute.

The match got heated in the 86th minute, when Aldawsari lashed out his legs against Iwao after being brought down, resulting in a red card.

Urawa was able to fend off the opposition's attacks thanks to its numerical advantage and secure a point away from home.

With a valuable away goal in hand, Urawa will return home for the second leg of their quest for a third Asian title on Saturday 6 May.

Coaches and Players' Comments

Maciej SKORZA, Head Coach (Urawa Red Diamonds)
It was a very tough match against a good team, Al Hilal, and we struggled to retain possession in the early stages of the match. It was disappointing as we wanted to play more attacking, but we became more calm and were able to create chances from counterattack as the match progressed. We also managed to apply aggressive pressure to force our opponents to make mistakes in the second half, which led to the equaliser scored by Koroki. It's a very good result for us and I salute the players for fighting hard until the very end, despite having a difficult start. We have a good mix of young and experienced players in the team and playing against a team like Al Hilal is a valuable experience for our players. We are hopeful that we can achieve the result we are looking for next week at Saitama Stadium.

DF SAKAI Hiroki (Urawa Red Diamonds)
The atmosphere in the stadium and the game were as challenging as expected, but it was great that the team maintained its unity after conceding a goal. Having the second leg in Saitama is a huge advantage for us. I want to express my gratitude to the nearly 700 fans who travelled so far to attend today's game. I'm glad we were able to provide them with a successful outcome in the first leg.

FW KOROKI Shinzo (Urawa Red Diamonds)
The match became a little more challenging after we conceded an early goal. Regardless of the result, we were determined to win our home match in the second leg, but the fact that we were able to earn a point in the first leg gives us a huge advantage. The crowd size will be close to 60,000 in the second leg at home, so I want to fight with the help of our supporters and share the joy with everyone by winning the championship at Saitama Stadium, just like we did in 2017.

Ramon DIAZ, Head Coach (Al Hilal)
We started the game very well and scored from good attacks, but the situation can get really complicated if we make mistakes in the final. We had prepared well and had chances to win, but after Urawa tied the game, there was some confusion among the players, and Aldawsari's dismissal didn't help matters either. But the final is not over yet, so we will fight to the end. We are used to overcoming difficult situations and we want to recover well and be ready for the second leg. We have not given up hope and we will do our best to defend our title.

YouTube(The AFC Hub):#ACL2022 FINAL (1st Leg) - Al Hilal (KSA) 1-1 Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN)

Tournament Information