According to reports, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal football team achieved one of its biggest victories in AFC Champions League (Elite edition) history, crushing South Korea’s Guangzhou with a stunning 7-0 win in Jeddah.

With this result, Al-Hilal advanced to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season and the ninth time in their history.

Salem Al-Dawsari, the star of Al-Hilal, climbed to the top of the competition’s scoring chart after netting against Guangzhou, marking his ninth goal in this season’s AFC Champions League (Elite edition).

Al-Dawsari scored Al-Hilal’s third goal at the Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah, securing a dominant continental quarterfinal victory.

This goal puts the Saudi international level with Guangzhou’s Yasser Asani and Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos forward Anderson Lopes at the top of the scoring charts. Al-Dawsari also surpassed Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez, Al-Ahli’s star (with 8 goals).

This heavy victory repeats the same result Al-Hilal achieved against Qatar’s Al-Duhail in the 2022-23 semifinals on February 26, 2023. Previously, Al-Hilal had defeated UAE’s Baniyas 7-1 in the 2012 AFC Champions League Round of 16, but conceded a goal in that match—unlike their clean sheets against Al-Duhail and Guangzhou.

Al-Hilal has reached the semifinals in the last three editions of this competition, winning the title once. Notably, the “Elite” branding has been added to the tournament this season, along with some rule changes.