Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia has reached the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League by setting a world record of 28 consecutive victories.
They broke the previous record of 27 consecutive wins set by Welsh team The New Saints in 2016 after beating fellow Saudi team Al-Ittihad 2-0.
Al Hilal from Riyadh, already the most successful team in AFC Champions League history, won 4-0 on aggregate in Jeddah.
In the second leg of the quarter-finals played at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium last year, runners-up Al Hilal won with the help of goals from Yasser Al Shahrani and Brazil’s Malcolm.
Hilal will face Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the last four next month as the 2003 champions secured a penalty shootout victory over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nasr on Monday.
A painful night for Etihad ended in the last minute of normal time when striker Abdul Razzaq Hamdallah was awarded a second penalty for grabbing Al Hilal defender Ali Al Balhi by the throat.
This clash led to several clashes between the opposing players.
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The Etihad, who won the Champions League in 2004 and 2005, were missing several key players.
Last summer, 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema was once again ruled out of Real Madrid’s squad due to injury, while 2018 World Cup winner N’Golo Kante was sent off in the first leg.
However, it was the reigning Saudi Pro League champions who posed the biggest threat for the majority of the contest.
The Etihad almost opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Romarinho’s kick from the edge of the Hilal penalty area headed home.
At the beginning of the second half, Al-Hilal’s goalkeeper Muhammad Alawis saved the team twice. First the Saudi Arabia international parried Marwan Al-Sahfi’s strike on the counter and then dived to the right to brilliantly block Ahmed Al-Ghamdi’s high-speed drive. Despite this, in 61 minutes, Al-Hilal made it to the semi-finals.
Malcolm then raced over Aleksandar Mitrovic’s ball in injury time to make it a night to remember for the Riyadh side.
Al Hilal, who lead the Saudi Pro League by 12 points, have won their last nine Champions League matches. They recently won the trophy in 2021.
