Al Hilal’s blue walkers bring the storm to conquer Gwangju's dragons | OneFootball

Jeddah may not have been a land of always winter, but all the same, Al Hilal were not afraid to bring the storm in 33 degrees heat to conquer South Korea’s Gwangju FC.

An emphatic 7-0 triumph on Friday saw the Riyadh powerhouse reign supreme at the expense of the Korean side with a dragon for a logo as 48,714 fans raised a "Game of Thrones" inspired "Night King" tifo at Alinma Stadium.

Seven different players left their blue hand mark on goalkeeper Kim Kyeong-min’s net as Al Hilal became the first Roshn Saudi League representatives to book their place in the 2024-25 AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals, moving a step closer to the throne they previously assumed four times.

It took only six minutes for the four-time continental champions to take the lead when Salem Al Dawsari delivered a cross from the corner towards the near post, where Sergej Milinkovic-Savic awaited to climb highest and guide his header into the back of the net.

Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bono proved his value minutes later, when a defensive mistake allowed Albanian winger Jasir Asani to break free, finding himself in acres of space and plenty of time to finish, only for the Moroccan to deny him with an exceptional right-foot save.

Opposite number Kim Kyeong-Min responded in kind, producing three consecutive top-drawer saves to deny Al Dawsari, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Milinkovic-Savic as Al Hilal piled on the pressure in the opening half hour.

However, Marcos Leonardo doubled the RSL champions’ lead in style midway through the first half, after a fine passing move saw Malcom drill a low cross from the right for his compatriot, who found the bottom corner with a first-time finish.

As the home fans raised their stunning "The Night King" tifo, they were rewarded with an equally special goal from club captain Al Dawsari.

A well-worked counter attack allowed Leonardo to feed the No.29 down the left, leaving Al Dawsari to embark on a 40-yard run, beat the last Gwangju defender and calmly slot home for 3-0.

Jorge Jesus’ men suffered a blow late in the first half, though, with Joao Cancelo suffering a muscular injury and having to be replaced by Yasser Al Shahrani.

After the restart, the record Asian champions picked up exactly where they left off, with their Serbian duo combining for the fourth. This time, Milinkovic-Savic moved in space down the right and picked out his international teammate Mitrovic, who hammered home his sixth goal of the competition.

With 11 minutes remaining, Malcom joined the party, the Brazilian exchanging passes with Mitrovic and moving through on goal before powering in his finish past Kim.

Substitute Nasser Al Dawsari appeared to round off the scoring five minutes from time. With the Koreans attempting to play out from the back, Kaio Cesar intercepted and, after his initial effort was parried by Kim, Mitrovic set up Al Dawsar. The midfielder's drilled effort took a deflection but spun into the net.

There was still time for Abdullah Al Hamdan to bag Al Hilal's seventh before the end. Another Mitrovic assist teed up the Saudi international, who did not hesitate to blast it in from the edge of the Gwangju area.

With one challenge out of the away, Al Hilal await the winner of the match between fellow RSL side Al Ahli and Thailand’s Buriram United. They face off on Saturday before Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr take on Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos in the later kick-off.