There was no miracle.

On the 26th (Korean time), Gwangju concluded its journey with a crushing 0-7 defeat against Al Hilal in the quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) held at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, allowing three goals in the first half alone.

It was a match that truly felt like a weight difference. Al Hilal, considered one of the top clubs in the Saudi League, which is the richest in the world, has the most expensive player at the time Neymar left, Kalidou Koulibaly (34). He is the 'senior Kim Min-jae' who played for Napoli until 2022.

At that time, as Koulibaly left for Chelsea, Kim Min-jae, who transferred from Fenerbahçe, filled the void. Leading Napoli to a Serie A title after 33 years became the turning point for Kim Min-jae's success as a world-class player. Koulibaly transferred to Al Hilal in 2023. Currently, Koulibaly earns a weekly salary of £559,526 (about 1.06 billion won).

Koulibaly is the fifth highest earner in the world. His weekly salary is higher than the highest salary of domestic players in Gwangju. Koulibaly's yearly salary is £29,095,364 (about 55.12 billion won). Gwangju's total expenditure for the 2024 season was 9.66 billion won.

There is an astonishing calculation that selling just one Koulibaly could buy about six teams like Gwangju. This weight difference was clearly demonstrated on the field.

Before the decisive battle, Gwangju lined up in a 4-4-2 formation. Hayes and Choi Kyung-rok teamed up in Chonbang. Park Tae-jun and Lee Kang-hyun formed the midfield, while Gabriel and Asani took responsibility for the flanks. Byun Joon-soo and Min Sang-ki played as center-backs, and Kim Jin-ho and Jo Sung-kwon served as left and right full-backs, respectively. The starting goalkeeper was Kim Kyung-min.

On the other hand, the ultra-luxury squad Al Hilal lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Aleksandar Mitrović, Malcom, Marcos Leonardo, Salem Al-Dawsari, Rubén Neves, Sergej Milinković-Savić, João Cancelo, Koulibaly, Hasan Al-Tambakti, Renan Lodi, and Yassine Bounou took the field, ruthlessly overwhelming Gwangju.

As expected, the difference in strength was too extreme. Gwangju collapsed just six minutes into the match. They could not overcome the basic weight difference of the players. The starting point was height. Al-Dawsari’s corner kick was met by Milinković-Savić, who headed it in as if he had been waiting at the near post. It made one feel the term 'weight difference.'

This was not the end. Gwangju stumbled under a relentless onslaught from the opponent. In the 8th minute of the first half, a sharp cross from Malcom brushed Mitrović's forehead but fortunately missed the goalpost. Gwangju did not remain idle either. They immediately went on the counterattack, and Hayes won the ball in the opponent's Chin Young, quickly passing it to Asani. Asani faced the goalkeeper one-on-one but succumbed to Bounou's sharp judgment and save.

After Asani’s shot went wide, a crisis followed the opportunity. Al-Dawsari, Mitrović, and Savić all aimed for Gwangju's goal, but Kim Kyung-min cleared everything with his fingertips. However, in the 25th minute of the first half, Al Hilal, persistently probing Gwangju's left flank, ultimately scored another goal. Following Savić's pass, Malcom's cross and Leonardo's shot completed the addition to the score.

With the momentum in their favor, Al Hilal broke through the defense in a counterattack in the 33rd minute of the first half. Al-Dawsari, receiving Leonardo's through pass, used his speed to evade the defense. He even got past the rushing Kim Kyung-min and scored the third goal, wrapping up the first half with three unanswered goals.

After conceding three goals in the first half, Gwangju could not regain their composure in the second half either. In the 9th minute of the second half, Savić's sharp cross from the left flank found Mitrović, who accurately headed it in, quickly extending the score to 0-4. Coach Lee Jung-hyo and the Gwangju players looked momentarily taken aback.

Effectively, the match was over. In the 34th minute of the second half, Malcom scored another goal, making the score 0-5. In the final moments, they conceded goals to substitutes Nasser Al-Dawsari and Abdullah Al-Hamadan, extending the gap to seven goals. Gwangju, conceding four goals in the second half alone, finished their ACLE journey this season with a disheartening 0-7 defeat.

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