2021 AFC Champions League Final

The 2021 AFC Champions League Final was the final of the 2021 AFC Champions League, the 40th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 19th under the current AFC Champions League title.

2021 AFC Champions League Final
Event2021 AFC Champions League
Al-Hilal Pohang Steelers
2 0
Date23 November 2021 (2021-11-23)
VenueKing Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh
Man of the MatchMoussa Marega (Al-Hilal)
RefereeMohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)[1]
Attendance50,171
WeatherClear
25 °C (77 °F)
47% humidity

The final was contested as a single match between Al-Hilal from Saudi Arabia and Pohang Steelers from South Korea. Prior to the match, both teams were joint most successful teams in the AFC Champions League, with three titles each. Al-Hilal won the match 2–0 and clinched their fourth title, becoming the outright most successful team in the history of the competition. They also qualified for the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Teams

In the following table, finals until 2002 were in the Asian Club Championship era, since 2003 were in the AFC Champions League era.

Team Region Previous finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
Al-Hilal West Region (Zone: WAFF) 7 (1986[A], 1987[B], 1991, 2000, 2014, 2017, 2019)
Pohang Steelers East Region (Zone: EAFF) 3 (1997, 1998, 2009)
Notes
  1. ^
    The 1986 final was played in four-team round-robin format, with Al-Hilal finishing as runners-up.
  2. ^
    Al-Hilal was unable to participate in the 1987 final and therefore was declared as runners-up.

Venue

On 20 October 2021, the AFC announced that Mrsool Park would host the final. It was later changed to King Fahd International Stadium, also in Riyadh.

Road to the final
Further information: 2021 AFC Champions League

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away; *: played in centralized group locations).

Al-Hilal Round Pohang Steelers
Opponent Result Group stage Opponent Result
AGMK 2–2* Matchday 1 Ratchaburi Mitr Phol 2–0*
Shabab Al-Ahli 2–0* Matchday 2 Nagoya Grampus 0–3*
Istiklol 3–1* Matchday 3 Johor Darul Ta'zim 4–1*
Istiklol 1–4* Matchday 4 Johor Darul Ta'zim 2–0*
AGMK 3–0* Matchday 5 Ratchaburi Mitr Phol 0–0*
Shabab Al-Ahli 0–2* Matchday 6 Nagoya Grampus 1–1*
Group A runners-up
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Istiklol 6 10
2 Al-Hilal (H) 6 10
3 Shabab Al-Ahli 6 7
4 AGMK 6 7
Source: AFC
(H) Host
 Final standings Group G runners-up
Pos Team Pld Pts
1 Nagoya Grampus 6 16
2 Pohang Steelers 6 11
3 Johor Darul Ta'zim 6 4
4 Ratchaburi Mitr Phol (H) 6 2
Source: AFC
(H) Host
Opponent Result Knockout stage Opponent Result
Esteghlal 2–0 (A) Round of 16 Cerezo Osaka 1–0 (A)
Persepolis 3–0 (H) Quarter-finals Nagoya Grampus 3–0 (H)
Al-Nassr 2–1 (A) Semi-finals Ulsan Hyundai 1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) (A)

Format

The final was played as a single match. If tied after regulation time, extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out would have been used to decide the winning team.[2]

Match
Al-Hilal 2–0 Pohang Steelers
  • N. Al-Dawsari 1'
  • Marega 63'
 Live Report
Stats Report
Attendance: 50,171
Al-Hilal
Pohang Steelers
GK1 Abdullah Al-Mayouf
RB2 Mohammed Al-Breik
CB20 Jang Hyun-soo
CB32 Muteb Al-Mufarrij
LB16 Nasser Al-Dawsari
CM7 Salman Al-Faraj (c)
CM28 Mohamed Kanno 83' 90+4'
RW17 Moussa Marega 26'
AM15 Matheus Pereira 84'
LW29 Salem Al-Dawsari
CF18 Bafétimbi Gomis 85'
Substitutes:
GK31 Habib Al-Wotayan
GK33 Abdullah Al-Jadaani
DF12 Yasser Al-Shahrani 85'
DF23 Madallah Al-Olayan
DF70 Mohammed Jahfali 90+4'
MF43 Musab Al-Juwayr
MF56 Mohammed Al-Qahtani
MF88 Hamad Al-Yami
FW11 Saleh Al-Shehri
FW14 Abdullah Al-Hamdan
Manager:
Leonardo Jardim
GK21 Lee Jun
RB32 Park Seung-wook
CB13 Gwon Wan-gyu 42'
CB2 Alex Grant 20'
LB10 Kang Sang-woo (c)
CM17 Shin Kwang-hoon
CM57 Lee Soo-bin 46'
RW8 Mario Kvesić 46'
AM6 Sin Jin-ho
LW77 Lim Sang-hyub 67'
CF82 Manuel Palacios
Substitutes:
GK41 Cho Sung-hoon
DF3 Lee Kwang-jun
DF4 Jeon Min-gwang 53' 46'
DF30 Kim Ryun-seong
MF14 Oh Beom-seok
MF37 Kim Ho-nam
MF38 Kim Jin-hyun
MF79 Go Young-joon 46' 81'
FW20 Lee Ho-jae 81'
FW25 Kim Seong-ju
Manager:
Kim Gi-dong

Man of the Match:
Moussa Marega (Al-Hilal)

Assistant referees:[1]
Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
Hasan Al-Mahri (United Arab Emirates)
Fourth official:[1]
Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)
Video assistant referee:[1]
Ammar Al-Jeneibi (United Arab Emirates)
Assistant video assistant referees:[1]
Omar Mohamed Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates)
Hanna Hattab (Syria)

Match rules[2]

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if tied.
  • Penalty shoot-out if still tied after extra time.
  • Ten named substitutes, of which up to five may be used, with a sixth allowed in extra time.[note 1]

Notes
  1. Each team was only given three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

    References
    1. "طاقم دولي إماراتي يُدير نهائي دوري أبطال آسيا 2021". UAE Football Confederation. 29 October 2021.
    2. "AFC Champions League 2021 Competition Regulations" (PDF). the-afc.com. Asian Football Confederation.
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