Al-Hilal won their third Asian club championship, tying the record set by the Pohang Steelers for most in the competition's history. They won 3–0 on aggregate, having defeated the Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0 in the first leg and 2–0 in the second.[4] This marked the first time in eight years that a team from West Zone won the competition since Al Sadd won it in 2011.[5] As Asian champions, Al-Hilal earned the right to represent the AFC at the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup in Qatar, entering at the second round.[6]
Teams
In the following table, finals until 2002 were in the Asian Club Championship era, since 2003 were in the AFC Champions League era.
This was the first time that an Asian club final took place at the King Saud University Stadium. Saitama Stadium 2002 hosted an Asian club final for the third time, having previously hosted the second legs of 2007 and 2017.[citation needed]
The final was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs (first leg hosted by team from the West Region, second leg hosted by team from the East Region) reversed from the previous season's final.[7] The away goals rule, extra time (away goals do not apply in extra time) and penalty shoot-out would have been used to decide the winning side if necessary (Regulations, Section 3. 11.2 & 11.3).[6]
Matches
First leg
Summary
Peruvian André Carrillo scored the only goal of the match for Al-Hilal.
Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.
Statistics
Overall
Statistic
Al-Hilal
Urawa Red Diamonds
Goals scored
1
0
Total shots
22
2
Shots on target
6
1
Blocked shots
8
1
Ball possession
70%
30%
Corner kicks
9
2
Passes
680
293
Fouls conceded
10
12
Offsides
3
1
Yellow cards
1
0
Red cards
0
0
Second leg
Summary
Salem Al-Dawsari scored for Al-Hilal after 74 minutes before Bafétimbi Gomis made his eleventh goal of the tournament, earning him the top goalscorer and best player titles aside of the AFC Champions League trophy.
