Al Hilal Gears Up for AFC Champions Elite Quarterfinal Clash With Gwangju
Defending champions Al Hilal from the Saudi Pro League will face Gwangju from South Korea's K League 1 in the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League Elite at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on Friday. Al Hilal...
TroibNews 
Defending champions Al Hilal from the Saudi Pro League will face Gwangju from South Korea's K League 1 in the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League Elite at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on Friday.
Al Hilal find themselves six points behind league leaders Al Ittihad, with five matches remaining, having won just one of their last four outings. A setback in their title defense came with a 3-1 defeat to city rivals Al Nassr.
In the previous season, Al Hilal faced elimination in the semifinals of the Champions League Elite at the hands of UAE Pro League's Al Ain. Coach Jorge Jesus emphasized their commitment to reclaiming the continental trophy, stating, “It's a competition that we haven't won. Last year we won all the titles except the Asian Champions League, so we are very committed and knowing that it will be a tough competition, but we want to be playing the game, in this case, tomorrow's game, the quarterfinals, we want to reach our level to be able to get past the semifinals.”
On the other hand, Gwangju enters the match with nothing to lose, having already achieved an impressive run in the tournament as debutants. They were expected to falter in the round of 16 but overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Japanese side Vissel Kobe, winning 3-2 on aggregate. Currently, Lee Jung-Hyo's squad sits third in the K League 1 standings, just four points behind the leaders after a recent victory against Seoul. Acknowledging their underdog status against Al Hilal, Lee anticipates a closely contested match.
“Definitely going to be an interesting game coming up, so I asked our players to compete with confidence, and we have to challenge, right?” Lee remarked. “We have to challenge against this big-name team, and especially for our fans, because of course, our fans are going to have high expectations for the result of the upcoming match. So we should respond to our fans, and the feeling that we have a good, positive result that's going to come out of it. As for the details, we're going to play our Gwangju style as usual and we're going to play our offensive and aggressive style as usual, for getting some interesting points in our games. So I really have a good expectation for this match.”
Emily Johnson for TROIB News
Al Hilal find themselves six points behind league leaders Al Ittihad, with five matches remaining, having won just one of their last four outings. A setback in their title defense came with a 3-1 defeat to city rivals Al Nassr.
In the previous season, Al Hilal faced elimination in the semifinals of the Champions League Elite at the hands of UAE Pro League's Al Ain. Coach Jorge Jesus emphasized their commitment to reclaiming the continental trophy, stating, “It's a competition that we haven't won. Last year we won all the titles except the Asian Champions League, so we are very committed and knowing that it will be a tough competition, but we want to be playing the game, in this case, tomorrow's game, the quarterfinals, we want to reach our level to be able to get past the semifinals.”
On the other hand, Gwangju enters the match with nothing to lose, having already achieved an impressive run in the tournament as debutants. They were expected to falter in the round of 16 but overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Japanese side Vissel Kobe, winning 3-2 on aggregate. Currently, Lee Jung-Hyo's squad sits third in the K League 1 standings, just four points behind the leaders after a recent victory against Seoul. Acknowledging their underdog status against Al Hilal, Lee anticipates a closely contested match.
“Definitely going to be an interesting game coming up, so I asked our players to compete with confidence, and we have to challenge, right?” Lee remarked. “We have to challenge against this big-name team, and especially for our fans, because of course, our fans are going to have high expectations for the result of the upcoming match. So we should respond to our fans, and the feeling that we have a good, positive result that's going to come out of it. As for the details, we're going to play our Gwangju style as usual and we're going to play our offensive and aggressive style as usual, for getting some interesting points in our games. So I really have a good expectation for this match.”
Emily Johnson for TROIB News
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