Al-Hilal lost 3-1 to Al-Shamal on Tuesday evening at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al-Khor in the third round of the league phase of the Asian tournament. Salem Al-Dawsari scored Al-Hilal's only goal.
The match in Al-Khor
Al-Dawsari opened the scoring on 32 minutes. Theo Hernandez rolled a pass into Al-Dawsari's path in front of an empty goal for the finish.
Al-Dawsari's season so far
It was Al-Dawsari's first goal of the season and his first start. Before the match, he had come on from the bench for a handful of minutes in two Roshn League matches.
Closing in on the record
Al-Dawsari's goal was his 36th in the Asian tournament. He was one goal short of retired South Korean Dong-gook Lee, the competition's second-highest scorer of all time. Six more goals would see Al-Dawsari draw level with Montenegrin Dejan Damjanovic, the all-time top scorer in the new format on 42.