2021 AFC Champions League final

2021 AFC Champions League final
The King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh hosted the final
Event2021 AFC Champions League
Al-Hilal Pohang Steelers
2 0
Date23 November 2021 (2021-11-23)
VenueKing Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh
Man of the MatchMoussa Marega (Al-Hilal)
RefereeMohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)[1]
Attendance50,171
WeatherClear
25 °C (77 °F)
47% humidity
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The 2021 AFC Champions League final was the final of the 2021 AFC Champions League, the 40th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 19th under the AFC Champions League title.

The final was contested as a single match between Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia and Pohang Steelers from South Korea. Prior to the match, both teams were joint most successful teams in the AFC Champions League, with three titles each. Al-Hilal won the match 2–0 and clinched their fourth title, becoming the outright most successful team in the history of the competition.[2][3][4][5] As Asian champions, they also qualified for the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Teams

In the following table, the finals until 2002 were in the Asian Club Championship era, and since 2003 in the AFC Champions League era.

Team Region Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal West Region (Zone: WAFF) 7 (1986,[A] 1987,[B] 1991, 2000, 2014, 2017, 2019)
South Korea Pohang Steelers East Region (Zone: EAFF) 3 (1997, 1998, 2009)
Notes
  1. ^
    The 1986 final was played in a four-team round-robin format, with Al-Hilal finishing as runners-up.
  2. ^
    Al-Hilal were unable to participate in the 1987 final and were declared runners-up.

Venue

On 20 October 2021, the AFC announced that Mrsool Park would host the final. It was later changed to King Fahd International Stadium, also in Riyadh.[6][7]

Road to the final

Further information: 2021 AFC Champions League

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away; *: played in centralized group locations).

Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal Round South Korea Pohang Steelers
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
Uzbekistan AGMK 2–2* Matchday 1 Thailand Ratchaburi Mitr Phol 2–0*
United Arab Emirates Shabab Al-Ahli 2–0* Matchday 2 Japan Nagoya Grampus 0–3*
Tajikistan Istiklol 3–1* Matchday 3 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 4–1*
Tajikistan Istiklol 1–4* Matchday 4 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 2–0*
Uzbekistan AGMK 3–0* Matchday 5 Thailand Ratchaburi Mitr Phol 0–0*
United Arab Emirates Shabab Al-Ahli 0–2* Matchday 6 Japan Nagoya Grampus 1–1*
Group A runners-up
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 Tajikistan Istiklol 6 10
2 Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal (H) 6 10
3 United Arab Emirates Shabab Al-Ahli 6 7
4 Uzbekistan AGMK 6 7
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
 Final standings Group G runners-up
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1 Japan Nagoya Grampus 6 16
2 South Korea Pohang Steelers 6 11
3 Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim 6 4
4 Thailand Ratchaburi Mitr Phol (H) 6 2
Source: AFC
(H) Hosts
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
Iran Esteghlal 2–0 (A) Round of 16 Japan Cerezo Osaka 1–0 (A)
Iran Persepolis 3–0 (H) Quarter-finals Japan Nagoya Grampus 3–0 (H)
Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr 2–1 (A) Semi-finals South Korea Ulsan Hyundai 1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) (A)

Format

The final was played as a single match. If tied after regulation time, extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out would have been used to decide the winning team.[8]

Match

Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia2–0South Korea Pohang Steelers
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 50,171
Al-Hilal
Pohang Steelers
GK 1 Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Mayouf
RB 2 Saudi Arabia Mohammed Al-Breik
CB 20 South Korea Jang Hyun-soo
CB 32 Saudi Arabia Muteb Al-Mufarrij
LB 16 Saudi Arabia Nasser Al-Dawsari
CM 7 Saudi Arabia Salman Al-Faraj (c)
CM 28 Saudi Arabia Mohamed Kanno Yellow card 83' downward-facing red arrow 90+4'
RW 17 Mali Moussa Marega Yellow card 26'
AM 15 Brazil Matheus Pereira Yellow card 84'
LW 29 Saudi Arabia Salem Al-Dawsari
CF 18 France Bafétimbi Gomis downward-facing red arrow 85'
Substitutes:
GK 31 Saudi Arabia Habib Al-Wotayan
GK 33 Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Jadaani
DF 12 Saudi Arabia Yasser Al-Shahrani upward-facing green arrow 85'
DF 23 Saudi Arabia Madallah Al-Olayan
DF 70 Saudi Arabia Mohammed Jahfali upward-facing green arrow 90+4'
MF 43 Saudi Arabia Musab Al-Juwayr
MF 56 Saudi Arabia Mohammed Al-Qahtani
MF 88 Saudi Arabia Hamad Al-Yami
FW 11 Saudi Arabia Saleh Al-Shehri
FW 14 Saudi Arabia Abdullah Al-Hamdan
Manager:
Portugal Leonardo Jardim
GK 21 South Korea Lee Jun
RB 32 South Korea Park Seung-wook
CB 13 South Korea Gwon Wan-gyu Yellow card 42'
CB 2 Australia Alex Grant Yellow card 20'
LB 10 South Korea Kang Sang-woo (c)
CM 17 South Korea Shin Kwang-hoon
CM 57 South Korea Lee Soo-bin downward-facing red arrow 46'
RW 8 Bosnia and Herzegovina Mario Kvesić downward-facing red arrow 46'
AM 6 South Korea Sin Jin-ho
LW 77 South Korea Lim Sang-hyub Yellow card 67'
CF 82 Colombia Manuel Palacios
Substitutes:
GK 41 South Korea Cho Sung-hoon
DF 3 South Korea Lee Kwang-jun
DF 4 South Korea Jeon Min-gwang Yellow card 53' upward-facing green arrow 46'
DF 30 South Korea Kim Ryun-seong
MF 14 South Korea Oh Beom-seok
MF 37 South Korea Kim Ho-nam
MF 38 South Korea Kim Jin-hyun
MF 79 South Korea Go Young-joon upward-facing green arrow 46' downward-facing red arrow 81'
FW 20 South Korea Lee Ho-jae upward-facing green arrow 81'
FW 25 South Korea Kim Seong-ju
Manager:
South Korea Kim Gi-dong

Man of the Match:
Moussa Marega (Al-Hilal)

Assistant referees:[1]
Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
Hasan Al-Mahri (United Arab Emirates)
Fourth official:[1]
Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
Video assistant referee:[1]
Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates)
Assistant video assistant referees:[1]
Omar Mohamed Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates)
Hanna Hattab (Syria)

Match rules[8]

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if tied.
  • Penalty shoot-out if still tied after extra time.
  • Ten named substitutes, of which up to five may be used, with a sixth allowed in extra time.[note 1]

Notes

  1. ^ Each team was only given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "طاقم دولي إماراتي يُدير نهائي دوري أبطال آسيا 2021" (in Arabic). UAE Football Confederation. 29 October 2021.
  2. ^ Tan, Gabriel (22 November 2021). "Al Hilal, Pohang Steelers face off in ACL final gunning for record fourth crown". ESPN. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  3. ^ Church, Michael (21 November 2021). "Al Hilal and Pohang to face off with Asian record on the line". Reuters. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Al Hilal, Pohang set up Riyadh decider". FIFA. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  5. ^ Duerden, John (23 November 2021). "Al-Hilal win AFC Champions League with 2–0 victory over Pohang Steelers". Arab News PK. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Saudi Arabia to host 2021 AFC Champions League final". ESPN. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  7. ^ Jabir, Wael (15 November 2021). "Historic King Fahd International Stadium set for major upgrade as Saudi Arabia bids for 2027 AFC Asian Cup". Arab News. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  8. ^ a b "AFC Champions League 2021 Competition Regulations" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation.