Al Hilal defended their home ground and defeated Urawa Reds Diamond 1-0 in the first leg of the Asia Champions League. Peruvian forward André Carrillo (28 years old) scored the winning goal for his team.
The goal for the Saudi Arabian team came after a precise cross to André Carrillo, who took advantage of a mistake by the visiting goalkeeper to score with a header in the 60th minute at the King Saud University Stadium.
The second leg between Al Hilal and Urawa Reds Diamonds will be played on November 24th in Saitama, Japan. The winner of the tournament will earn a spot in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup.
Carrillo was not called up by Ricardo Gareca for the friendly matches of the Peruvian National Team against Colombia and Chile, which will take place on November 15th and 19th, respectively.
PREVIEW
Al Hilal vs. Urawa Red Diamonds face each other LIVE on Saturday, November 9th in the first leg of the Asia Champions League final. André Carrillo was called up for this match, scheduled for 11:30 am (Peruvian time) at King Saud University Stadium in Saudi Arabia.
The Peruvian, who was not called up by Ricardo Gareca for the friendly matches against Colombia and Chile, will fight to achieve a good result at home that allows his team to have a chance in the second leg (November 24th) to win the most important title for both him and the club. The championship would guarantee qualification to the Club World Cup.
Although he was not included in the squad during the group stage, Carrillo has been part of the starting lineup since the round of 16, so everything indicates that he will start on Saturday. The 'Culebra' has scored one goal in six tournaments in the Asia Champions League.
Al Hilal reached the final after eliminating Al Sadd, Al Ittihad, and Al Ahli. And it could be a rematch: two years ago, both teams faced each other in the 2017 final. On that occasion, Al Hilal drew at home and lost away (2-1 aggregate), so they couldn't win the title.
Possible line-ups for Al Hilal vs. Urawa:
Al Hilal: Al Mayouf; Kadesh, Al Hafith, Jahfali, Shahrani; Ateef, Cuéllar, Al Abed, Eduardo, Carrillo; Al Shehri.
Urawa: Nishikawa; Makino, Iwanami, Antonio, Takuya, Sekine, Hashioka, Ewerton, Koroki, Muto, Nagasawa.