JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia successfully retained the AFC Champions League Elite title, defeating first-time finalist Machida Zelvia of Japan 1-0 on Saturday.
The match was decided by an extra-time goal from Saudi international striker Firas Al-Burikan, amidst a heated atmosphere in front of 60,000 predominantly Al Ahli supporters in Jeddah.
Despite being down to 10 players for nearly an hour, Al Ahli could not capitalize on Machida’s advantage.
“It’s incredible,” commented Al Ahli winger Riyad Mahrez, who celebrated a UEFA Champions League victory with Manchester City in 2023. “We enjoy making things difficult for ourselves.”
“Playing with ten is almost impossible; I can’t explain how we found the strength and determination. After the red card, we came together, fought harder, and kept going until we scored.”
Opportunities to score were few and far between in the first half, though Al Ahli, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, nearly took the lead when Brazilian winger Galeno evaded the Machida defense, only to have his low shot saved by goalkeeper Kosei Tani. Just before halftime, a close-range attempt from Merih Demiral was prevented from crossing the line.
Al Ahli suffered a setback midway through the second half when Zakaria Hawsawi was sent off for headbutting Tete Yangi, with the referee witnessing the incident directly.
This red card shifted the momentum in favor of Machida, who kept Al Ahli goalkeeper Édouard Mendy busy with numerous saves. The end of regular time saw another red card for Al Ahli substitute Mohammed Abdulrahman, who received his dismissal while on the sidelines.
The deadlock was broken in the sixth minute of extra time, courtesy of former Barcelona and AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessié, who set up Al-Burikan for a powerful shot into the net from close range.
With this victory, Al Ahli became the first team since local rivals Al Ittihad in 2005 to win consecutive Asian titles.
“We’re thrilled to have made it to the final,” said Machida coach Go Kuroda. “Al Ahli is a team rich in championship experience. We conceded at a tough moment, and that made it hard for us to recover.”
The tense final mirrored several ongoing challenges faced throughout the tournament.
All matches from the quarter-final stage onwards were held in Jeddah, resulting in a mere 395 spectators attending Machida’s semifinal victory over Shabab Al-Ahli from the United Arab Emirates.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East caused the postponement of the round-of-16 matches in West Asia from March to April, and they were reduced from two legs to one.
There were concerns regarding the participation of East Asian teams in the knockout rounds, but Machida, a club that has yet to win the J1 League, made history for their club.