AFC Champions League Elite™ 2024/25 - Al Hilal’s Jesus craving for glory

Riyadh: The dream to lift aloft the AFC Champions League Elite™ trophy is providing the motivation for head coach Jorge Jesus to keep pushing his Al Hilal SFC side after they recovered from a first leg defeat to advance into the quarter-finals with a 4-1 aggregate against Pakhtakor on Tuesday.

Despite an unbeaten league-winning 2023/24 season, the semi-final exit to Al Ain FC in the AFC Champions League™ 2023/24 is a disappointment Jesus is determined to erase as he looks to add Asian continental success to his Copa Libertadores triumph with Flamengo in 2019.

#ACLElite | R16, 2nd Leg: Al Hilal SFC (KSA) 4 - 0 Pakhtakor (UZB)

"I congratulate the players on their performance,” said Jesus. “We played the match as required, controlled the game properly, and put the opposing team under pressure.

"The Asian title is my goal and personal ambition. What has changed now is that we have an extra day to recover, unlike the pressure we faced playing consecutive matches in February."

Goals from Hamad Al Yami and Malcom put Al Hilal ahead on aggregate at the break before further efforts from Salem Al Dawsari and Nasser Al Dawsari sealed a comfortable comeback win.

Captain Salem admitted his side went into the game under pressure after the 1-0 reverse in Tashkent last week but stressed that expectation comes with the territory given Al Hilal’s rich history on the continental stage.

"I would like to thank the fans for their great effort throughout the match which helped us secure our qualification and continue our journey in the tournament,” said Salem.

"Any Al Hilal player must be able to play under pressure, and a player who wants to achieve exceptional performances must exert extra effort. I'm not looking to prove anything, I’m just trying to make the fans happy.”

Pakhtakor head coach Pedro Moreira accepted that his team were second-best on the day but remains positive of the future with the new domestic season having just begun.

"We played well in the first 30 minutes, but then they took over, and it was difficult to keep up with them,” said Moreira. “We played well because we gave Al Hilal the respect they deserve, and the final result is fair.

"The difference between the first and second legs is the way we started the first leg. Let's not forget that we are now building a new team. We didn't expect to lose by four goals, but as I said, it is a fair result."

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