By Sean Miyaguchi,
Urawa Reds fell short of a second Asian Champions League title in three seasons on Sunday, losing 3-0 to Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal on aggregate following a 2-0 defeat in the second leg of their final.
Midfielder Salem Al Dawsari struck in the 74th minute at Saitama Stadium before former France international Bafetimbi Gomis added an exclamation goal in injury time.
(#18 Bafetibi Gomis of Al Hilal competes for the ball.)[Getty/Kyodo]
The victory ended Al-Hilal's run of heartbreak in the ACL final following losses to Urawa in 2017 and Australia's Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014.
Urawa started the return leg trailing 1-0 on aggregate after Al-Hilal's victory in Riyadh on Nov. 9, but the J-League side never looked likely to overhaul the deficit despite vocal support from the crowd of 58,109.
Having kept Urawa pinned inside their own half for much of the contest at King Saud University Stadium, Razvan Lucescu's men looked to pick up where they left off, applying early pressure through Sebastian Giovinco and first-leg goal-scorer Andre Carrillo down the right side.
Reds keeper Shusaku Nishikawa, who missed the first leg through suspension, was called into action in the eighth minute, diving on the ball inside the area as Gomis loomed.
Al-Hilal keeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf saved his own team moments later, just beating Daiki Hashioka to the ball as Urawa quickly counterattacked.
[Getty/Kyodo]
Reds had their best chance of the half on a 23rd-minute counterattack when Shinzo Koroki showed his speed on the dribble to outrace defender Jang HyunSoo on the left.
The striker and club talisman crossed to Kazuki Nagasawa, who touched the ball back to Takahiro Sekine, but the forward's shot was smothered by a defender directly in front of goal.
Al-Hilal caught Urawa's defense out of position on a counter late in the half, but Giovinco failed to set up Gomis inside the area, sending his through ball wide of the sprinting striker.
Urawa came under pressure early in the second half, with Takuya Aoki and Takuya Iwanami picking up yellow cards in quick succession after fouling to stop Al-Hilal on the break.
Nishikawa stopped his team conceding a devastating away goal when he blocked a tightly angled shot from Gomis at close range in the 69th minute.
But the visitors made the breakthrough on the counterattack five minutes later, with man-of-the-match Giovinco pulling a ball back for Al Dawsari to stroke home from the middle of the area.
Needing to score three times due to the away goals rule, the match was effectively out of reach for Tsuyoshi Otsuki's men, who conceded once more on the counter as Carrillo set up Gomis to beat Nishikawa from near the penalty spot in the 93rd minute.
Otsuki, who took over as Reds manager following the sacking of Oswaldo Oliveira early in the season, said his side had faced an uphill battle after losing the first leg in Riyadh.
"We were forced to go on the attack because of our loss in the first game, but we still couldn't score," Otsuki said.
"It was a difficult match, and because of the gaps we left (by attacking), we ended up conceding. All we can do at this point is thank our supporters."
The continental title would have been a rare bright spot in an otherwise frustrating season for Urawa, who now turn their attention back to the J-League. With two rounds remaining, the 13th-place Reds have yet to secure their safety from relegation.
