In the Asian Champions League quarterfinals, Al Hilal defeated Al-Ittihad, a rival team from Jeddah, 2-0 to win their 28th straight game.
The Saudi Arabian football team Al Hilal defeated Al-Ittihad 2-0 to advance to the Asian Champions League semifinals, setting a global record for a top-tier team by winning 28 successive games.
The two city rivals faced off in the second leg of their quarterfinal encounter on Tuesday night at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah. Al Hilal advanced 4-0 on aggregate after winning the opening leg of the quarterfinals by the same margin.
The previous recognized record of 27 straight victories established by The New Saints in the 2016–17 season was broken by the 18-time Saudi Arabian champions. In 1971–72, the Welsh squad defeated the legendary Ajax team, led by Johan Cruyff.
Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus remarked, “Everyone at Al Hilal is delighted to achieve world football history by winning 28 consecutive matches.”
“I want to thank everyone at the club for their part in this historic winning record. This is truly an incredible achievement.”
Al Hilal’s dominating season follows the club spending about $380m on player transfers after being effectively nationalised by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth operation the Public Investment Fund.
The last time the team did not win was on September 21 in a 1-1 draw against league rivals Damac.
Al Hilal leads the Saudi Pro League by 12 points and has previously won four titles in Asia.
But as I have stated time and time again, records are not as important as trophies, according to Jesus.
“Everyone at Al Hilal has a responsibility to make sure we finish the season as the Roshn Saudi League winners and accomplish our goals in the cup tournaments. That’s when we can genuinely rejoice.
Yasser Alshahrani and Brazilian winger Malcom clinched the victory for Al Ittihad, who had late-game red carded forward Abderrazak Hamdallah.
In the semifinals in April, Al Hilal will play Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates. On Monday, Al Ain defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s squad in a penalty shootout to eliminate Al Nassr.
In an all-South Korean encounter, Ulsan HD defeated Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1-0 in the second leg to go to the round of four in the eastern zone.
Ulsan, the 2012 and 2020 winners, won the match 2-1 overall after Seol Young-woo’s goal tied the score at one in the first leg.
In the semifinals, Ulsan will play China’s Shandong Taishan or Japan’s Yokohama F Marinos.
