'12th man got us over the line' - Jaissle, Toney on Al Ahli reaching ACL Elite final | OneFootball

Mattias Jaissle and Ivan Toney paid tribute to the collective for Al Ahli booking a place in the AFC Champions League Elite final, with the pair including the Jeddah club’s superb fan base following their thrilling 3-1 victory against Al Hilal on Tuesday.

The two-time Asian finalists prevailed in a gripping semi-final encounter at Alinma Stadium against the record four-time champions, where Roberto Firmino, Toney and Feras Al Buraikan got the goals to secure the club's third continental final – and first since 2012.

The action-packed match, which also included Salem Al Dawsari’s terrific finish, Kalidou Koulibaly’s red card, two Toney disallowed goals and Franck Kessie’s saved penalty, was a brilliant advert for the RSL.

Indeed, with Al Hilal the reigning Saudi champions, it represented only the third all-RSL semi-final in tournament history.

What’s more, 50,000-plus fans packed inside the famous Jeddah stadium to generate an incredible atmosphere throughout – something that certainly resonated with Al Ahli’s heroes of the night.

"It was a fantastic evening," Jaissle said. "I am so, so proud of each of the players and what we were doing as a unit. And, as a unit, I mean with the fans here in the stadium as well. It was a totally deserved win.

"We knew it would be a hard fight against Al Hilal. But I'm really happy with how we dealt with that."

Ivan Toney puts Al Ahli 2-0 up v Al Hilal and on their way to ACL Elite final

Toney, who sits joint-second in the 2024-25 RSL scoring charts behind Cristiano Ronaldo, continues to thrive in his debut season in the Kingdom.

The England international, who has 19 goals in the RSL, netted Al Ahli’s second on Tuesday, taking his recent tally against Al Hilal to four goals in two matches. He has found the net six times in Asia, also.

“The saying ‘the 12th man got us over the line’, which is the fans, comes into play," Toney said. "When you hear them there, it’s crazy. And we deserved that.”

Now, having come through an all-RSL encounter, still-undefeated Al Ahli have the opportunity to face another fellow Saudi top-flight side in Saturday’s final. On Wednesday, Al Nassr take on Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale in the second last-four clash.

Reflecting both on Al Ahli’s victory and then looking at what lies ahead, Toney added: “It just shows the quality we have. We’re all excited, we’re all happy. But there’s obviously one more step we have to make and hopefully we can do that.

“Obviously, it’s a big task. We’ll go into it with a good frame of mind and, hopefully, we can win."