Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia achieved a historic achievement and was crowned champion of the AFC Elite Champions League for the second time in a row, after its difficult and exciting victory over Machida of Japan with a score of 1-0 in the final match that was held on Saturday.
The match witnessed a great rivalry, but substitute Firas Al-Braikan was able to secure the title for Al-Ahly by scoring a fatal goal in the 96th minute of the second extra half, on the floor of Al-Enmaa Stadium in Jeddah, amid overwhelming joy from the Al-Ahly fans who gathered to support their team.
Despite the difficult circumstances that the Saudi team faced, specifically after defender Zakaria Hawsawi was sent off in the 68th minute with a direct red card due to unsportsmanlike behavior, Al-Ahly was able to stand firm and achieve the victory.
This is Al-Ahly’s second title in the continental championship, as it previously won the 2025 edition at the expense of Kawasaki Frontale with a score of 2-0 in the final match.
With this victory, Al-Ahly becomes the first team to win the AFC Champions League title twice in a row since the new tournament system was implemented.
Al-Ahly also became the third Saudi team to reach the final of the continental championship in two consecutive editions, after Al-Ittihad in 2004 and 2005, and Al-Hilal in 2021 and 2022.
With this achievement, Al-Ahly equaled Al-Ittihad’s achievement as a Saudi team that achieved the continental title for two consecutive years, thereby confirming its position as one of the most prominent teams on the Asian continent.
