Al Ahli Saudi’s Ivan Toney (right) celebrates with teammate Merih Demiral. PIC: AFC
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Second half goals from Galeno and Ivan Toney saw Al Ahli Saudi FC overcome a first half deficit to defeat Vissel Kobe 2-1 at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium yesterday and book their place in Saturday’s final of the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite Finals Jeddah 2026.
The defending champions launched a dramatic turnaround following the interval after Yoshinori Muto had given the J1 League side a 31st minute lead and Matthias Jaissle’s side remain on track to become the first team since Al Ittihad to retain the continental title in 2005.
Al Ahli will take on either FC Machida Zelvia from Japan or Shabab Al Ahli from the United Emirates in the final, with that pair due to meet in the second semi-final at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium today.
For the second consecutive year, Jeddah is hosting the eight-team centralised finals of Asia’s premier club football competition, which was rebranded last year as the Asian Champions League Elite.
