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Fierce conflict in Saudi Arabia’s U-21 league
The curtain came down on the quarter-finals of the Under-21 Aviation League Elite Championship in a round that saw plenty of surprises and exciting developments after most of the top teams were knocked out of the competition in one of the most volatile stages of the season.
Amidst these remarkable results, Al Hilal managed to maintain their position and successfully continue their journey to become the only major team to make it to the semi-finals in light of the intensifying battle between the clubs aspiring to win the title.
Al-Hilal escapes the ambush of the big ones
The quarter-finals saw major upsets, notably the elimination of Al-Nasr and Al-Ittihad, in addition to Al-Itifaq and Al-Taawun, after remarkable performances throughout the season.
Al-Nasr suddenly lost the first leg 1-4 to Al-Fateh and lost 2-3 in the second leg, while Al-Taaun suffered one of the heaviest defeats in the first leg, losing 0-6 to Al-Hazm.
In the second leg, Al-Etifaq tried to rectify the situation, but settled for a simple 3-1 victory, failing to advance to the next round.
As for Al-Ittihad, they lost 1-2 to Al-Hilal in the first leg and drew 1-1 in the second leg, failing to advance to the quarter-finals. On the other hand, Al-Taawu lost to Al-Qadisia in the first match with the result of 1-2.
He won the return match with the same result, but left the competition with penalty kicks (3-4).
A hat-trick and brilliance from Al-Arini
The quarter-finals saw the success of Al-Hazmi’s Youssef Al-Shammari, who scored a superb hat-trick against Al-Itifaq in the first leg, which his side won 6-0.
Despite Al-Taawoun’s defeat and exit from the competition, tournament top scorer Bassem Al-Arini continued to score, scoring once in the first leg and another in the second leg to take his tally to 21 goals.
Al-Ittihad striker Ammar Al-Ghamdi scored twice against Al-Hilal, scoring in the first leg and once in the second leg.
Stars of the quarter finals
After Al-Fateh, Al-Hilal, Al-Hazm and Al-Qadisia qualified, the quarter-finals saw many talents shine, most notably Bassem Al-Arini, the league’s top scorer.
In addition to Al-Ittihad’s top scorer Ammar Al-Ghamdi, in addition to Al-Nasri’s player Abdul-Malik Al-Jaber, who scored a double against Al-Fateh in the second leg.
For Al-Hazm, Abdulaziz Al-Jarahin and Youssef Al-Shammari shone, while Jalal Al-Salem, Al-Etifaq’s top scorer, was strangely absent.
