Al Ain v Al Hilal: Crespo proud of victory but demands focus for ACL semi-final second leg

Hernan Crespo praised his Al Ain players for their memorable victory against Al Hilal in the Asian Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, but warned the job remains only half done as they target a place in the showpiece.

The UAE club defeated their Saudi opponents 4-2 in the first leg at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, with Soufiane Rahimi netting a first-half hat-trick. The match had been postponed 24 hours because of the adverse weather that hit the UAE the previous day.

The result snapped Hilal’s remarkable 34-match winning streak, Al Ain inflicting the record four-time Asian champions' first defeat since last September. It represented Hilal’s first loss in this year’s Champions League.

For Al Ain, the 2003 champions sit in pole position to reach a fourth continental final – and first since 2016.

However, despite the healthy lead going into the second leg, manager Crespo knows what lies ahead in the return fixture in Riyadh next Tuesday.

“I am proud of the players who were able to make the Al Ain fans happy against a strong and distinguished competitor, and another confrontation awaits us in Riyadh,” the Argentine said.

“We are happy with the result in this match, which is only the first half of the Champions League semi-final, and we are required to focus on the return match.

“We realise that our task will not be easy. Nothing is decided as we still have a match in Riyadh, and everyone should be ready for the next match. The most important thing in life and in football is to be competitive."

Rahimi, who struck three times in last month’s quarter-final win against Hilal's city rivals Al Nassr, opened the scoring on six minutes before then converting two first-half penalties.

It lifted the Moroccan into sole lead of the