Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad Refuse Defeat as Saudi Al-Qadsiah Secures Victory

Al-Ahli Saudi, the defending champions, opened their campaign in the AFC Champions League Elite with a 1-1 draw against Uzbek visitors Pakhtakor in the first round of the Western Group.

UAE’s Shabab Al-Ahli secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Iranian visitors Tractor in Dubai, while Saudi’s Al-Qadsiah followed suit by defeating UAE’s Al-Wasl 2-1. Meanwhile, Qatar’s Al-Sadd suffered a heavy 0-3 defeat to Iran’s Esteghlal Tehran, and Saudi’s Al-Ittihad escaped defeat to draw 1-1 with Qatari hosts Al-Shamal thanks to a late goal.

In the first match at Jeddah’s Al-Inma Stadium, Al-Ahli, who rested several key players ahead of their upcoming Saturday match against South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in the FIFA Club World Cup, were the dominant side and had a chance to take the lead, but Brazilian Galinho Wenderson hesitated in his shot, allowing the defense to clear the danger (12).

Al-Ahli created another opportunity, but a shot from England’s Ivan Tony went wide of the post (19).

From a swift counter-attack, Pakhtakor managed to score when Brazilian Flamaron received the ball on the edge of the penalty area, advanced, and fired it powerfully into the net (86).

In stoppage time, Al-Ahli equalized when Firas Al-Brikan capitalized on a rebound from the goalkeeper, slotting it powerfully into the net (90+3).

In the second match, Yuri Cesar scored the only goal of the game (23) for Shabab Al-Ahli, who dominated the match but failed to convert their chances into more than one goal.

Brazilian coach Andre Jardine of Shabab Al-Ahli said, “We started the match strongly and imposed complete control over the flow of play, scoring early, but we failed to add more than one goal.”

At Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium, Al-Qadsiah’s two goals were scored by Mexican Julian Kinonnes (57) and substitute Italian Matteo Retegui (61), while Leandro Spadaro Let scored Al-Wasl’s only goal (90+7).

This was Al-Qadsiah’s first victory in the continental competition, which they had been absent from for 32 years, specifically since 1994.

After a goalless first half, Northern Irish coach Brendan Rodgers of Al-Qadsiah brought on the duo of Retegui and Ghanaian Bonso Bah to replace Turki Al-Ammar and Mohammed Al-Qahtani (46). Retegui then scored the first goal via a cross from Bah, which the Mexican headed into Al-Wasl’s net (57).

Al-Qadsiah doubled their lead through Retegui following a low cross from Mohammed Abu Al-Shammat (61).

Al-Wasl pulled one back through Spadaro Let, who received a pass from Pedro Malheiro and turned it into the net (90+7).

Qatar’s Al-Sadd suffered a heavy 0-3 defeat to Iran’s Esteghlal, with the goals scored by Albanian Yaser Asani (9), Saeed Saharkhizan (47), and Ismail Gholizadeh (90+5).

Al-Sadd captain Hassan Al-Haidos said, “We made many mistakes and were unable to control the match as required. We must correct our errors and strive to recover in the future.”

He added, “We came to Basra aiming to secure three points, but we failed to deliver the required performance.”

Saudi’s Al-Ittihad avoided defeat and secured a valuable 1-1 draw on the road against Qatari hosts Al-Shamal at Al-Bait Stadium in Al-Khor.

Al-Shamal took the lead through Algerian Baghdad Bounajaa (63), and Al-Ittihad equalized thanks to new signing Dutchman Georginio Wijnaldum (90+3).

Uzbekistan’s Neftchi defeated Iraqi visitors Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya with a late goal scored by Serbian Zoran Marusic (83).