Al-Hilal team was crowned champion of the King’s Cup in Saudi Arabia, yesterday, Friday, after defeating its counterpart Al-Wahda by penalty kicks 6-7, after the end of the original and additional match times in a 1-1 draw, in the final match that was held at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.
Al-Wehda almost snatched the title after maintaining its lead throughout the original time of the match, after it advanced with a goal to the French player Karim Youda in the first half, but Al-Hilal managed to equalize the score in the ninth minute after the ninety, calculated from time instead of lost, through its star Ali Al-Bulayhi. .
The match was attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who handed the championship trophy to Al Hilal players, in a festive atmosphere that surrounded the stadium known as the “radiant jewel”.
In the penalty shoot-out, Al-Hilal goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf managed to stop 3 penalty kicks taken by Al-Wehda players, to save his team’s season after losing the AFC Champions League title and being away from competing for the league title.
Al-Hilal reached the final match after sweeping Al-Ettifaq team in the first round by 4-0, before eliminating Al-Fateh in the quarter-finals with a score of 3-1, then Al-Ittihad, the league leaders, with a reverse goal in the semi-finals. As for the Al-Wehda team, it caused a big surprise by defeating Al-Nasr and its star, Cristiano Ronaldo, in the semi-finals, with an orphan goal.
This is the tenth title for Al-Hilal in the competition, and its first in three years, to become the second most crowned King’s Cup in the country, after Al-Ahly, who has 13 titles in the competition.
Al-Hilal coach, Ramon Diaz, broke the curse of the final matches he faced with his team, as the Argentine lost 6 final matches after he managed to win the final of the tournament in 2017 at the expense of Al-Ahly, 3-2 in 2017.
