Analysis: Al Hilal take their chances to tame Persepolis

AFC – ABU DHABI, Saudi giants Al Hilal put one foot firmly in the 2017 AFC Champions League final after a thrilling 4-0 demolition of Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persepolis in the semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

Their coach Ramon Diaz showed tactical astuteness and the players’ clinical finishing.

Pace Over Power in Persepolis Attack

Finding themselves without the physical presence of striker Mahdi Taremi, Persepolis looked to exploit the space behind Al Hilal’s attack-minded full-backs.

Coach Branko Ivankovic deployed pacey strikers Ali Alipour and Godwin Mensha.

The latter came close to finding an early opener inside the first five minutes when he latched onto a long pass behind Al Hilal defence, but defender Abdullah Al Hafith came to the rescue.

Mensha’s early chance proved to be a rarity as Al Hilal coach Diaz had devised a plan to counter the threat posed by Persepolis’ attack and it worked efficiently as Mensha and Alipour managed just one shot on target between them all evening.

Al Dawsari Key Attacking Outlet
Ramon Diaz set up with Salman Al Faraj and Nicolas Milesi in midfield anchored by Abdullah Otayf and flanked by Salem Al Dawsari on the left and Carlos Eduardo in a wider than usual role on the right.

Al Dawsari, filling in for injured Nawaf Al Abid, was used as the main attacking outlet owing to his pace and direct style.

Diaz strategy worked well as Al Dawsari created more chances (four) and took more shots (five) than any other player on the pitch.

The winger assisted two of Al Hilal’s four goals on the night. Fortunately for Persepolis, Al Dawsari squandered chance after chance as the score remained limited to 4-0.

Taking Chances Matters
Al Hilal had less possession than Persepolis (48.2 percent to 51.8 percent respectively), they played less passes (429 to 446) and delivered significantly less crosses (12 to 26).

Crucially, Diaz’s men were more clinical; they delivered a larger percentage of their crosses (33.3 percent to Persepolis’ 19.2 percent) and were more composed in front of goal (46.7 percent shooting accuracy compared to Persepolis’ 30.8 percent).

Ultimately, Omar Kharbin was in a deadly form, scoring a perfect hat-trick; first a header, then with his left foot and finally with his right. The all-important stat read, Al Hilal 4-0 Persepolis.

Full-Backs Make the Difference
When Ivankovic targeted the space behind Al Hilal’s full-backs, he showed knowledge of the opponent; Yasir Al Shahrani and Mohamed Al Burayk did storm forward at every opportunity to support attacks.

However, Diaz had set up his midfield such as to have Al Faraj and Milesi cover for marauding full-backs, thus preventing Persepolis players from moving into this space.

The central midfielders’ extra-defensive duties allowed Al Hilal full-backs to prosper.

Between them, Al Shahrani, Al Burayk and Abdulla Al Zori, who was introduced in the second half, scored a goal and created two more.

The heatmaps show Al Shahrani spent a considerable amount of time in the opponents’ half while Al Faraj who occupied the left central midfield role spent a chunk of the game covering at left back.