Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia, the defending champion, settled for a 1-1 positive draw with its guest, Urawa Red Diamonds, Japan, in the first leg of the AFC Champions League final, Saturday, at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, and received a painful blow by expelling its top scorer, Salem Al-Dosari, who will miss the return match in Saitama on May 6. next May.

Al-Dosari opened the scoring for the hosts (13), while Shinzo Koroki equalized for the guests (53), before the winger was sent off four minutes before the end for violent behavior after Kane kicked Iwa after he was knocked down by the latter (86).

Al-Dossary's absence will be a strong blow to Al-Hilal, who holds the record number of titles (4) and is looking to consolidate his power, while Urawa wants a third title after 2007 and 2017.

More than a year after its launch, the final match of the 2022 edition was finally held. Urawa booked the final ticket about nine months ago, while the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the complications resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to the holding of the final round more than a year after the start of the tournament. continental.

Al Hilal coach Ramon Dias said after the match, "Al Hilal made a good start, but in the final matches, any mistake complicates matters. The match was strong, and Al Hilal is able to win in Japan, as things are not completely over."

He continued, "We were the best in most of the match, but it appeared that the players had to rush and rush in order to score goals, and some factors affected the match, such as the expulsion that Salem Al-Dosari was subjected to, but another half remains in Japan, and we hope the fans will support and not lose hope."

In turn, Al Hilal's Brazilian defender, Michael Delgado, said, "It is unfortunate that Salem Al-Dosari got a red card. The team fought to win and we tried to score goals, but we did not succeed. There is still a second half in Japan."

Al-Hilal demonstrated its ability to compete continentally and even internationally, after finishing runner-up to Spanish Real Madrid (3-5) in the Club World Cup final last February, when it defeated Brazilian Flamengo, the South American champion.

Al-Zaeem opened the scoring after Michael Delgado crossed a cross from the right, past all the players in front of the goal, and the goalkeeper failed to catch it, reaching Al-Dosari towards the second post, followed by a missile into the net (13), scoring his seventeenth goal in the AFC Champions League.

The two teams did not pose a significant danger in the first half, and the only other attempt at the goal was through a header by the Norwegian Marius Huybraten, Urawa defender, which was blocked by goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf (43).

The guests equalized early in the second half with a gift from the hosts, as the defender, returning from injury, Ali Al-Bulayhi, tried to cut a ball in the depths directed at Koroki. (53).

And there was a clear opportunity for Mali Musa Mariga to give Al-Hilal the lead when he hit a ball from the right side inside the area, which passed very close to the right post (66).

Al-Dosari was sent off before the end of the match after he kicked Ken Iwa with his leg in response to being knocked to the ground by the latter, amid the disappointment of the hosts.

This is the third final between Al-Hilal and Urawa within six years. The Japanese team won in 2017 (1-1 and 1-0) when Dias was coach of Al-Hilal in his first term, then the Saudi team returned the debt in the 2019 final (1-0 and 2-0) when He won his third title before adding the fourth in 2021 at the expense of South Korean Pohang Steels 2-0.

This is the last edition of the Champions League in its current system, before the 2023-2024 season switched to “European time”, so that the competitions would start in August before concluding in May of the following year.