In a commanding performance, Al-Hilal’s Aleksandar Mitrovic secured a hat-trick as the Saudi Arabian team maintained their leading position in the Asian Champions League Group D with a resounding 6-0 win over Mumbai City in Riyadh on Monday.
Former Fulham striker Mitrovic opened the scoring for Al-Hilal in the fifth minute, netting from close range, and then doubled his side’s lead in the middle of the second half. This marked the end of Mumbai’s resilient defense.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic added a third goal in the 75th minute with a headed effort, and Mitrovic completed his remarkable hat-trick five minutes later, executing a spectacular overhead kick.
Mohammed Al Burayk increased the tally with a fifth goal in the 82nd minute, while Abdulelah Al Malki unleashed a powerful long-range strike two minutes into added time, sealing the 6-0 victory.
Dutch midfielder Yoell van Nieff, who plays for Mumbai City, acknowledged their disappointment, saying, “We lost 6-0, it’s not why we came here. When we had the ball, we could have done more. We couldn’t keep the ball, and that’s the most important thing. Al-Hilal has a lot of quality, so all credit to them.”
Al-Hilal, competing in the Saudi Pro League, now boasts seven points from three games, tying with Navbahor. The Uzbekistan side made a comeback after falling behind and clinched a victory over their Iranian visitors, Nassaji Mazandaran.
Nassaji Mazandaran initially took the lead when Mohammedreza Azadi scored in the 44th minute. However, Oston Urunov leveled the score in the 74th minute, and Mehrdad Abdi’s own goal during added time secured the win for Navbahor.
In the Asian Champions League, only the group winners are guaranteed a place in the knockout rounds, where they will be joined by the three best runners-up from both the eastern and western regions.
In Group B, Sharjah from the United Arab Emirates moved one point clear at the top after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Nasaf of Uzbekistan. Caio Lucas opened the scoring for the hosts five minutes into first-half injury time. However, a late second yellow card for Majed Hassan put pressure on Sharjah.
Injury time saw Mohammad Abdulbasit’s handball, granting Nasaf an opportunity to share the points, but goalkeeper Adel Al Hosani saved Azizbek Amonov’s spot-kick. Nasaf remains in second place with six points, while Al Sadd of Qatar, in third place, secured a convincing 6-0 win over 10-man Al Faisaly.
In Group C, Al Ittihad from Saudi Arabia needed an injury-time goal from Abderrazak Hamedallah to secure a 1-0 victory over Iraq’s Air Force Club. They maintained a two-point lead over Iran’s Sepahan, who clinched a 3-1 victory over Uzbek side AGMK, with Ramin Rezaeian scoring twice in the match.
