Gwangju focused on Al-Hilal’s Saudi contingent in Champions League clash

JEDDAH: Al-Hilal’s foreign players have made the Saudi team one of the favorites to lift the Asian Champions League Elite title but Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo has his sights set on the club’s domestic contingent ahead of the quarter-finals on Friday.
The Riyadh-based outfit are aiming for a record-extending fifth continental title when the finals phase of this year’s competition begin in Jeddah with attention largely focused on the expensively acquired talent within Jorge Jesus’ side.
While Serbian duo Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have played key roles in a team of high-profile signings such as Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo, Lee believes the key to prevailing against Al-Hilal lies elsewhere.
“We have to take care of the Saudi Arabian players, their domestic players,” said Lee, who has led the South Korean club into the continental championship for the first time.
“We know the big name players, we know how they play. We have to keep an eye on Salem Al-Dawsari, Mohamed Kanno or Ali Al-Bulayhi.

They’re the players who are the core of Al-Hilal. We have to take care of them.”
Gwangju go into the clash at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium as underdogs having already performed above expectations to reach the last eight.
After a series of impressive displays in the league phase, the Koreans battled back from a two-goal first-leg deficit to eliminate J-League champions Vissel Kobe in the previous round.
Gwangju’s Albanian winger Jasir Asani is the tournament’s leading scorer with nine goals and Lee knows his players will need to be switched on for the duration of the quarter-final if they are to prevail.
“Every minute, every second is going to be very precious for us,” he said.