The highlight of the match came in the 86th minute when Brozovic's pinpoint cross was easily headed into an empty net by Crowe to seal a 2-0 victory for the Riyadh team.
Since 2024, Crowe has broken through in three consecutive matches, contributing a cumulative total of three goals, including an impressive goal-scoring efficiency against Feija in the two rounds of the 1/8 finals. For a 39-year-old, this is certainly a legendary achievement.
The stats show that Crowe has played 34 games for Riyadh since 2024, contributing 33 goals and 11 assists, including 21 goals and nine assists in the league and five goals and two assists in the AFC Champions League.
With the announcement of the AFC Champions League Top 8, the quarterfinal matchups are now clear. In East Asia, Shandong Taishan will face Yokohama Mariners, while Jeonbuk Hyundai and Ulsan Hyundai will go head-to-head.
The West Asia zone will be even more intense, with Al Ain taking on Riyadh Victory and Riyadh Crescent battling Jeddah United for qualification.
According to the schedule, the first round of the Quarterfinals will take place from March 4 to 6, while the second round is scheduled for March 11 to 13th.
Domestic fans are buzzing about this: "Riyadh Crescent and Victory in West Asia, Shandong and Jeonbuk in East Asia, and finally Shandong won the game, the AFC Champions League returned to China again after 8 years, what a consummation!" , "Shenzhen did not have the excitement of Crow, but Jinan witnessed the scene." , "Taishan seized the opportunity to enter the final."
In the final, fans were looking forward to the showdown between Shandong Luneng and Riyadh Victory. And fans in Shenzhen exclaimed, "Shenzhen didn't see Crow, but Jinan witnessed it."
As the AFC continues to implement the East and West Asian divisions, the Saudi trio will have to advance to the finals before they can meet the East Asian teams. Shandong Taishan, the only team in the Chinese Super League, will have to eliminate the teams from Japan and South Korea first in order to make a historic run to the final. Based on the contrasting strengths of the two teams, the outcome of the final will be one of two extreme scenarios.
