History-making RSL trio all set for ACL Elite showdown | OneFootball

With all three Roshn Saudi League clubs through to the AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals in Jeddah this week, history was made.

For the first time, three teams from the same country will take their place in the last four of Asia’s premier club competition, meaning the RSL is guaranteed at least one representative in the final at Alinma Stadium on Saturday.

First, though, Al Hilal and Al Ahli face off on Tuesday in Jeddah in an all-Saudi Arabian encounter, after the teams positioned second and fourth respectively in the current RSL dominated their quarter-finals.

"We are motivated; we know it's a big objective for us,” Al Hilal defender Kalidou Koulibaly said following the Saudi champions’ thumping 7-0 victory against South Korea’s Gwangju. “We know it's going to be difficult because there are a lot of good teams.

“This was just the first game, and we won it. We have to work towards the second now. We know it's going to be difficult if we want to win this trophy.

"We have to win three games; the first is gone and now we have to be focused on the coming games to reach our objective."

Al Ahli’s Ezgjan Alioski, meanwhile, was in similarly inspired mood following his side’s 3-0 triumph against Thailand’s Buriram United.

“All I can say is, believe - anything is possible,” he said. “We are always ready to achieve great things because we believe.”

The second semi-final, to be staged at the same Alinma Stadium on Wednesday, sees Al Nassr take on Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale.

Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo gets another goal, this time v Yokohama F. Marinos

Like their RSL counterparts, third-placed Al Nassr advanced via a comprehensive quarter-final win, Cristiano Ronaldo on the scoresheet in an impressive 4-1 victory against another Japanese side, Yokohama F. Marinos.

“I think we played a very good game - it was a great win," said Ronaldo, whose eighth goal of the Asian campaign moved him one off top spot in the scoring charts - a position shared by four players, including RSL pair Salem Al Dawsari and Riyad Mahrez.

“It was great the way our forward line is coming through. Let's go to the semi-final now!”