There was no miracle.

On the 26th (Korea time), Gwangju concluded its journey with a 0-7 defeat against Al Hilal in the quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) 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 difference in weight class. Al Hilal, regarded as a prestigious club in the richest Saudi league, boasts the highest-paid player, Kalidou Koulibaly (34), at the time Neymar left. Koulibaly is known as '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 Fenerbahce, filled the void. Kim Min-jae, who led Napoli to its first Serie A title in 33 years, successfully established himself as a world-class player. Koulibaly transferred to Al Hilal in 2023. Currently, Koulibaly earns a weekly salary of £559,526 (approximately 1 billion, 600 million won).

Koulibaly is the fifth-highest paid player in the world. Koulibaly's weekly salary is higher than the highest salary among domestic players in Gwangju. Koulibaly’s annual salary is £29,095,364 (approximately 55.1 billion won). Gwangju had an overall expenditure of 9.66198 billion won for the 2024 season.

It has been calculated that even selling just one Koulibaly could fund about six teams like Gwangju. This significant difference in weight class was evident on the field.

Ahead of the decisive match, Gwangju lined up in a 4-4-2 formation. Hayes and Choi Kyung-rok teamed up in the front. Park Tae-jun and Lee Kang-hyun formed the midfield, while Gabriel and Asani took on the flanks. Byun Jun-soo and Min Sang-ki coordinated as central defenders, and Kim Jin-ho and Jo Sung-kwon played as left and right full-backs, respectively. The starting goalkeeper was Kim Kyung-min.

In contrast, the super-luxury squad of Al Hilal lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Aleksandar Mitrović, Malcolm, Marcus Leonardo, Salem Al-Dosari, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinković-Savić, João Cancelo, Koulibaly, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Renan Lodi, and Yassine Bounou came out to mercilessly dominate Gwangju.

As expected, the difference in power was too extreme. Gwangju collapsed just six minutes into the match. They couldn't overcome the fundamental weight class difference of the players. The starting point was height. Al-Dosari's corner kick was flicked in by Milinković-Savić, waiting at the near post. It made the phrase 'weight class difference' feel very real.

But that was not the end. Gwangju staggered under the relentless assault of the opponent. In the 8th minute of the first half, a sharp cross lifted by Malcolm grazed Mitrović's forehead, but fortunately missed the goalpost. Gwangju did not remain idle. They quickly countered, and Hayes won the ball in the opposing half, swiftly passing it to Asani. Asani faced the goalkeeper one-on-one but succumbed to Bounou's sharp judgment and save.

After Asani's miss, a crisis followed the opportunity. Al-Dosari, Mitrović, and Savić took aim at Gwangju's goal consecutively, but Kim Kyung-min cleared them all with his fingertips. However, by the 25th minute of the first half, Al Hilal, persistently penetrating Gwangju's left flank, ultimately secured an additional goal. Starting with Savić's pass, Malcolm's cross led to Leonardo's shot that completed the additional goal.

Riding high on momentum, Al Hilal shattered Gwangju's defense in a counterattack in the 33rd minute. Receiving Leonardo's through ball, Al-Dosari leveraged his speed to evade the defenders. He got past the approaching Kim Kyung-min and slotted in the third goal, ending the first half with three unanswered goals.

After conceding three goals in the first half, Gwangju remained unfocused in the second half. In the 9th minute of the second half, Savić’s sharp cross that sliced through the left flank was accurately headed in by Mitrović, rapidly increasing the score to 0-4. Lee Jeong-hyo, the coach, and the Gwangju players appeared momentarily stunned.

In essence, the game was over. In the 34th minute of the second half, Malcolm scored another goal, bringing the score to 0-5. In the final moments, Gwangju conceded goals to substitutes Nasir Al-Dosari and Abdullah Al-Hamadan, widening the score gap to seven. After allowing four consecutive goals in the second half, Gwangju ended up conceding three goals in the first half and four in the second half, collapsing to a 0-7 defeat, thus concluding their journey in the ACLE this season.

A loss is still a loss, but Al Hilal did not show a gracious demeanor as the victors. Al Hilal's coach Jorge Jesus refused to shake hands with Gwangju coach Lee Jeong-hyo, who approached him after the 0-7 defeat, with a disdainful expression. He gestured with his hand and mouth as if to say, 'Go ahead, talk,' while turning away from Lee Jeong-hyo's handshake.

This was a mockery of Lee Jeong-hyo’s provocation before the match, where he stated that he would retaliate against Al Hilal. It's one thing to keep provoking, but it was not appropriate behavior for Jesus to reject the handshake from Lee Jeong-hyo, who approached with good manners after already achieving a decisive victory. Instead of exhibiting dignity as the victors, they rendered themselves contemptible.

[OSEN]