There were only two players from his own country, but Al Hilal, who was a European big league player, had a different way of walking...Power gap that was impossible to overcome due to director Lee Jung-hyo's resourcefulness

There were only two players from his own country, but Al Hilal, who was a European big league player, had a different way of walking...Power gap that was impossible to overcome due to director Lee Jung-hyo's resourcefulness

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It was a difference that was difficult to overcome with resourcefulness or tactics. That's how strong the opponent was.

Gwangju FC failed to advance to the semifinals by losing 0-7 in the 2024-2025 Asian Football Confederation Champions League Elite (ACLE) quarterfinals against Al Hilal (Saudiarabi) at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 26th (Korea time).

Al Hilal deployed all foreign players from the big leagues in Europe to build the best 11. He deployed Aleksandar Mitrovic of Serbia at the forefront and Saleem Al Dosari, Marcus Leonardu and Malcolm of Brazil at the second line. Hoobeng Neves of Portugal and Sergei Milinkovic of Serbia kept the midfield. Henan Roddy of Brazil, Hasan Al Tambakti of Senegal, and João Cancelo of Portugal scored four goals. Yasin Bunu of Morocco played as the main goalie. Only two of them were Al Dosari and Al Tambakti of Brazil.

Striker Mitrovic is an English Premier League player who played for Newcastle United and Fulham. During the 2021-2022 season, he played for Fulham and scored 43 goals in the second division of the championship. Leonardo played for Portugal's prestigious Benfica until last year, while Malcolm joined Al Hilal after playing for Zenit in Russia via Barcelona.

Midfielder Neves is from Wolverhampton and Milinkovic Savic is from Lazio in Italy's Serie A. Center back Koulibaly is a high-quality defender who played as Kim Min-jae's partner in Napoli before heading to Saudi Arabia after Chelsea. Side back Roddy is from Atletico Madrid, and Cancelo was a world-class defender who played for Juventus, Manchester City, and Barcelona. Bunu was the main goalkeeper of Spain's La Liga, Seville.

There were only two players from the country, al-Dosari and al-Tambakti, who are playing for Saudi Arabia. They are also playing as main players in the preliminary round for the 2026 North-China World Cup in Asia.

As the lineup was spectacular, Al Hilal's performance was overwhelming. In particular, the tempo itself was different. Three or four passes often led to the collapse of the Gwangju defense organization. The detailed play in the final third area was "post-Asian level." The four-back line that Koulibaly held out was also solid. It seemed to have no cracks. Even if I approached the goalposts sometimes, I could not cross the Bunu's wall. There was no gap in the offense and defense. The so-called "walk" was a different team.

Gwangju lost by a large margin to 4 to 20 in the number of shots fired. The team held only 40 percent of ball possession, failing to lead the game. Gwangju is the team that plays the most leading role in the K-League, but it was not enough against Al Hilal. 메이저사이트

With a clear inferiority in power, Gwangju counted on the resourcefulness of Lee Jung-hyo, the best head coach in the K-League, but in the end, it was confirmed once again that the game was up to the players.