Riyadh: Al Hilal left King Fahd International Stadium wondering what more could they have done to get a win as Urawa Red Diamonds came away from Saudi Arabia with a valuable 1-1 draw to hand them a slight, but important advantage ahead of the second leg of the AFC Champions League in Saitama.
Al Burayk Key to Al Hilal’s Attacking Game
Urawa Red Diamonds Coach Takafumi Hori had to come out in defence of his left-back Tomoya Ugajin at the post-match press conference as the defender suffered a horrid evening at King Fahd Stadium.
Ugajin may have been below his usual standard but Al Hilal right-back Mohamed Al Burayk deserves the plaudits for making life difficult for his Japanese opponent.
Al Burayk consistently stretched Urawa’s defence and provided width for Al Hilal.
The No 2 delivered 12 balls into the penalty box, including four key passes and his defensive tendencies pinned Ugajin to his place as the Urawa man failed to deliver a single successful cross all game.
Nishikawa cancels out efficient Khribin
Omar Khribin added his tenth goal of the 2017 AFC Champions League campaign with a close-range finish late into the first half. But the Syrian could have easily replicated his exploits from the semi-final against Persepolis had it not been for Shusaku Nishikawa.
The Urawa goalkeeper saved two clear-cut chances from Khribin even as Al Hilal’s No 77 was very efficient with his finishing.
All five of Khribin’s efforts were aimed between the sticks, but at the end he only managed to beat Nishikawa once.
Urawa outnumbered in midfield
Al Hilal’s intense attacking approach may have centred around supplying balls out wide to Al Burayk on the flank, but the engine room that kept them ticking through extensive periods of possession consisted of Nicolas Milesi, Salman Al Faraj and Abdullah Otayf.
The trio dictated play from deep and Al Hilal’s dominance in midfield was boosted by the positioning of Nawaf Al Abid.
The playmaker came in for injured Carlos Eduardo 18 minutes into the game, and despite theoretically playing in a wide role on the right, he dropped deeper to provide numerical advantage for the hosts in the midfield battle.
Yosuke Kashiwagi and co saw little of the ball as Al Hilal controlled two-thirds of the possession and completed three times as many passes as their opponents.
Photo: AFP
Source: the-afc.com