Qatar’s Al Duhail exited the AFC Champions League 2022 after losing to reigning champions Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia 0-7 in the West Zone semifinal at the Al Thumama Stadium on Sunday.

Al Hilal will take on Urawa Red Diamonds, who sealed their place in the final from the East Zone last August.

Ramon Diaz-coached Al Hilal dismantled Al Duhail, with Odion Ighalo scoring four goals in their convincing victory. He found the target in the second, 10th, 48th and 62nd minutes. Moussa Marega (14th and 27th minutes) and Salem Al Dawsari (38th minute) were the other scorers.

Four-time winners Al Hilal will host the first-leg final in Riyadh on April 29 before travelling to Japan to take on Urawa at the Saitama Stadium on May 6.

Al Duhail had qualified for the semifinals for the first time in their history by defeating Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab 2-1 in the quarterfinal last Thursday.

The Red Knights had made it to the quarterfinals by beating city rivals Al Rayyan 7-6 on penalties after the teams were tied 0-0 at the end of regular time and 1-1 at the end of extra time.

This was Al Duhail’s 11th participation in the AFC Champions League and their most prominent achievement previously in it was reaching the quarterfinals three times (2013, 2015 and 2018).

Hernan Crespo-coached Al Duhail could not repeat their good performance against Al Hilal as the latter’s vast experience in Asia’s premier tournament counted a lot in the end.

Former Manchester United striker Ighalo, who started the scoring act in the very second minute of the game, was in imperious form in front of the goal, but the loss in the second half to a hamstring injury of Marega might have affected Al Hilal’s celebrations.

After leading 5-0 at half-time, Al Duhail continued from where they left off and added two more goals to seal a famous victory.