Al Ahli survived going a goal and a man down to remain on course for consecutive Asian titles as the defending champions fly the flag for the Roshn Saudi League on the continent.
The Jeddah club, who 12 months ago landed a historic AFC Champions League Elite crown, triumphed 2-1 against Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim in their quarter-final at Alinma Stadium on Friday night.
However, Al Ahli had to fight back from going behind on 19 minutes, when Ali Majrashi’s attempt to block a cross saw him inadvertently divert the ball into his own net.
Majrashi’s night then got even worse when, eight minutes before half-time, he was shown a straight red for a dangerously high foot.
As ever, Al Ahli's superb support were there to cheer them into the ACL semi-finals
Still, Al Ahli rebounded in first-half injury-time, Franck Kessie heading home Galeno’s cross before the hosts turned around the contest completely nine minutes into the second half.
This time, Galeno thundered an incredible effort from the edge of the penalty area high into the JDT goal as Al Ahli marched into the semi-finals. They now face Japan’s Vissel Kobe on Monday for a place in next week’s final.
“We made it to the next round despite a tight and tough match,” manager Mattias Jaissle said. “It’s never easy after a red card, but the players showed great mentality and discipline, with the fans giving us the extra boost."
Galeno scores incredible winner to send Al Ahli into the AFC Champions League Elite semis
“Until the red card, we didn’t play our best game. We needed to challenge [JDT's] back five more but it’s never easy. We see more and more in football when teams sit in defence, we need to be patient. It’s something we can do better, but we made it and that’s most important.”
Goalscorer Kessie added: “The game was very difficult but, despite that, it produced our best performance, and we fought until the end to get the result we wanted. The goal we conceded made things difficult and, when you play with only 10, it becomes even more difficult.
Asian champions Al Ahli jump for joy as march into AFC Champions League Elite last four
“After that we needed to focus on ourselves and try to remember everything the coach said. We gave our best to show our character, and managed to put ourselves in a strong position in the competition.”
Yet hopes off an all-Saudi final were denied later on Friday, when RSL champions Al Ittihad were eliminated from their quarter-final by Japan’s FC Machida Zelvia. The two-time winners were beaten 1-0 at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium through Tete Yengi’s deflected strike just after the half hour.
