Today, Wednesday, Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates put one foot forward in the AFC Champions League final, defeating its guest Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia (4-2), at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, in the first leg of the semi-final of the tournament, which witnessed 3 Ainawiyah penalty kicks.

The two teams started the match with a similar 4-2-3-1 playing style, and Al Ain dominated the first half in both play and score, amid the complete absence of Al Hilal.

Al Ain opened the scoring early in the 6th minute, with the first organized attack in the match, when Yahya Nabil passed the ball to Sufyan Rahimi, to confront Mohammed Al Owais, Al Hilal’s goalkeeper, and put the ball into the goal.

The goal raised the pace of the match, with an offensive surge from Al Hilal, enthusiasm from the hosts, and an attempt to exploit the empty spaces behind the defenders, and Eric hit a ground ball that Al Owais converted into a corner kick in the 8th minute.

The referee awarded a penalty kick for Al Ain in the 23rd minute, after Rahimi was obstructed by Al Owais. Then he returned at the same moment and declared the game offside based on a signal from the assistant referee. Video technology intervened, so the referee recalculated a penalty kick, because Rahimi was not offside, the only one in that match. The game.

Al-Owais received a yellow card, and Rahimi took the kick, scoring a second goal for Al-Ain in the 27th minute, making it more difficult for Al-Hilal, which had not shown its known level, to return, with the remarkable brilliance of Al-Ain players in their defensive performance and counter-attacks.

Ali Al-Bulaihi played a header after a corner kick for Al-Hilal in the 29th minute, but it passed near the left post, in the closest opportunity for the Saudi “Al-Zaeem” to score, and Al-Bulaihi then intervened, on the ball with Eric, and the referee awarded a penalty kick for Al-Ain in the 33rd minute. The referee confirmed the correctness of his decision after returning to video technology.

Rahimi scored the third goal from the second penalty kick for Al Ain in the 38th minute, and the player added his third goal, a “hat-trick.” The referee awarded 7 minutes of stoppage time in the first half, which saw him award a penalty kick for Al Hilal, which he returned and canceled for offside based on a signal. Assistant referee, and video technology confirmation.

Al-Hilal began the second half with a strong desire to compensate, and Malcolm was able to reduce the difference by scoring a goal in the 49th minute, after a quick Crescent attack. The referee awarded a third penalty kick to Al-Ain after Rahimi was obstructed by Koulibaly in the 54th minute, and the decision was confirmed after returning from the penalty spot. Video technology.

Kaku scored the third kick for Al Ain and scored the fourth goal in the 56th minute, adding the fourth goal against Al Hilali goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais. Al Hilal then took control of the performance and besieged Al Ain in its own half, which allowed Al Ain to organize more rapid counterattacks. .

 Al Hilal’s pressure resulted in a second goal in the 78th minute, after a combined chance. Khaled Issa, Al Ain’s goalkeeper, excelled in clearing the first chance, reaching Salem Al Dosari, who handled it with great skill with the ball, and shot it powerfully into the Al Ainawiya net.

The goal ignited Al Hilal’s enthusiasm as the match entered its deadly minutes, and they tried to score a third goal, and the right post of Al Ain’s goal responded with a powerful shot from Al Dosari in stoppage time, bringing Al Ain out with an important victory before the return match next Tuesday, at the Kingdom Arena in The Saudi capital, Riyadh.