Al-Ahli won the AFC Champions League Elite title after defeating Kawasaki 2-0 in the final at the Jewel Stadium.
Gallinho put the Saudi club ahead in the 31st minute with a sublime strike, followed by Franck Kessie’s header in the 41st minute.
Thus, the Saudi club achieved its first ever AFC Champions League title, following two failed attempts in 1986 and 2012.
Al-Ahli’s path passed Buriram United in the quarter-finals and Al-Hilal in the semi-finals, where the elite club defeated the Blue Wave 3-1.
This was the first title for coach Matthias Jaissle in his two-season tenure at Al-Ahly, after leading the club to the title of “The Fortress of Cups.”
Overall, this is the first continental title in Al-Ahli’s history and the 35th overall in the club’s history.
Al-Ahli is the third Saudi club to win the AFC Champions League title, after Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad, and the first to win the competition under the “elite” system.
