Bounou says AFC Champions League Elite is Al-Hilal’s main target

Yassine Bounou says winning the AFC Champions League Elite is one of Al-Hilal’s principal objectives this season after their 3-2 victory over Al-Ittihad in the Roshn Saudi League.

The Morocco goalkeeper was speaking after Saturday’s match at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, where Al-Hilal claimed victory in the eighth round of the competition.

Bounou also praised the progress of the Saudi league, saying the arrival of high-quality players had helped improve the standard and competitiveness of the tournament.

Al-Hilal’s win came in an entertaining meeting with their rivals, and Bounou reflected on the difficulty of facing friends on the pitch. That included Youssef En-Nesyri, whom he described as one of the friends football has brought into his life.

“Football is beautiful because it brings you together with friends who become like family, whether at the club or with the national team,” Bounou said in comments reported by Asharq Al-Awsat.

“But time moves on and you find yourself having to face them. That is not easy.”

Bounou then turned his focus to Al-Hilal’s AFC Champions League Elite campaign and their meeting with Al Sadd.

“The AFC Champions League Elite is one of the club’s main objectives this season,” he said. “We won the first match and, God willing, we will continue.”