“When I came into this match, I wanted to be a winner in this semi-final,” said Jesus. “For my team and myself, it would have been interesting to reach the final.

“But Al Ahli were better and superior. In the first half, they found the best use of space and found the goals through those moments. That affected the mentality of our team, then (Kalidou) Koulibaly’s sending off affected the spirit of our team."

“Both teams had the potential of winning. I did all that I could. We planned well but when the result is negative, we always have to find somebody to blame. 

“It’s not the administration, the responsibility is with me. I’m the one who makes the decisions, the line-up and strategy.” 

It was obvious that once Al Ahli got into their groove, there was only going to be one outcome as Al Hilal were devoid of the confidence and swagger they had shown in the 7-0 win against Korea Republic’s Korea Republic’s Gwangju FC in the quarter-finals.

Al Ahli continuously exploited Al Hilal’s lack of pace on the right as they clearly missed the injured Joao Cancelo, with replacement Yasir Al Shahrani unable to prevent the opening two goals.

“Each match has its own strategy. When we built our defence, we needed a player on the left and that is why I started with Ali (Al Bulayhi) today and I thought he would be fresh. 

“Al Shahrani had to come in because of injury. We started this defence in the league against Al Ahli and we won. At the end of the day, the coach is the one who has to make the decisions.”