Al Hilal Saudi Arabia achieved its third consecutive victory in the AFC Champions League, after wasting many easy opportunities against ten Mumbai City players in India, with goals from Michael and Alexander Mitrovic, to lead its group on goal difference from Uzbekistan’s Navpakhor.
Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus was right to warn against Mumbai in the midst of more than 30,000 fans at home in what was essentially a cricket stadium, amid the frustration of those present due to the absence of the beloved Brazilian star Neymar there due to injury, even though Al Hilal won 6-0 in Riyadh in the first leg.
Benzema is surrounded by Iraqi Air Force players (AFP)
The club, which holds a record in the tournament with four titles, was unable to score in the first half despite having 75 percent of the ball and lacked accuracy despite multiple opportunities.
Al Hilal, which was missing Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic due to injury, continued to waste easy opportunities recklessly, when Salem Al Dosari, the recent winner of the Best Player in Asia award, failed to score in front of an open goal and shot near the post in the 53rd minute.
One minute later, Al Hilal finally found the solution after Mumbai defender Singh was sent off, after which Michel succeeded in opening the scoring with a header after Mohammed Al Buraik’s cross in the 62nd minute, and celebrated in the style of Cristiano Ronaldo, the rival Al Nassr top scorer.
This is the 18th decisive pass for Al-Breik, who played as a left-back, in his history in the Champions League with Al-Hilal, and the fifth this season.
The crossbar prevented Nasser Al-Dosari’s goal before Mitrovic finally secured victory for the Saudi League leaders with a header after Malcom’s pass five minutes before the end.
Al Hilal has ten points from four matches, leading Group D on goal difference from Navbahor, which won 3-1 over Nasaghi in Iran.
For its part, Al-Ittihad lost to the Iraqi Air Force 2-0 at Francois Hariri Stadium in the city of Erbil, northern Iraq, in the presence of more than 15,000 spectators, as part of the third group competitions.
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya owes its second victory in this group, after the first over AGMK Olmalik of Uzbekistan 2-1 in the second round, to Ali Jassim (44) and Muhannad Abdul Rahim (52), who scored the two goals, thus achieving the Iraqi team’s revenge for its loss in the last round. On Al-Ittihad soil 0-1.
Iraqi fans cheer for their team after their victory over Al-Ittihad (AFP)
Despite the first loss after three consecutive victories, Al-Ittihad remained in the lead with 9 points, compared to 7 for Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in second place.
This loss comes to increase the pressure on Portuguese coach Nuno Santo, whose team is going through a difficult period in the Saudi League that holds its title, as it failed to achieve victory during the last five stages and is coming from a 0-1 defeat at the hands of Al-Shabab, which made it fall in sixth place by 11 points behind leaders Al Hilal after 12 stages.
For its part, Al-Nasr team is looking forward to continuing its exemplary journey in the tournament, when it is a guest of its counterpart, the Qatari team Al-Duhail, in the Qatari capital, Doha, amid expectations of a large audience presence, in addition to the ticket sales that preceded the confrontation.
Despite the crowds that were anticipating the presence of the legendary Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of the Al-Nasr team, the latter failed to accompany the delegation and remained in the capital, Riyadh, after his compatriot Luis Castro, the coach of the Al-Nasr team, preferred to rest him to avoid fatigue after the successive matches.
Al-Nasr enters its match at the top of Group Five with a full mark (9 points), and succeeded in achieving an exciting victory against Al-Duhail in the first leg, which ended 4-3 and witnessed the brilliance of star Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored the double against Al-Duhail.
The Capital Yellow has many offensive solutions, even in the absence of its most prominent star, Ronaldo, as it brings back the Brazilian Talisca, who missed the team’s last match locally against the Gulf, in implementation of a punishment from the Disciplinary Committee of the Saudi Football Federation.
Joining Ronaldo in his absence from the match against Al-Duhail is the Spanish player Laporte, who also did not accompany the delegation in coming to the Qatari capital, Doha, which will make the task seem more difficult for the team’s defensive elements.
If Al-Nasr wins, Al-Duhail’s points will provide a great morale boost towards reaching the next round, especially since Al-Nasr was able to win in its past three matches.
As for Al-Duhail of Qatar, which showed high capabilities on the offensive side, specifically in the last Al-Nasr match, it is looking forward to regaining its reputation and recording a positive result that will contribute to giving the team a final chance to compete for the second qualification card from this group.
Al-Duhail of Qatar has one point to its credit and is in third place in the group standings, eight points behind the leader (Al-Nassr). This evening, they are betting on their star Almoez Ali, in addition to the Brazilian Coutinino, the former Barcelona and Liverpool star, who excelled in the first leg but did not score in the first leg. The net, despite his multiple attempts.
In the same group, the Iranian team Persepolis seeks to continue its perfect start after losing in the first round, as it hosts Istiklal Dushanbe of Tajikistan after the Iranian team succeeded in defeating it in the first leg that brought them together in Tehran, the capital of Iran, in the last round.
In Riyadh, Al-Fayhaa hosts its counterpart, the Emirati team Al-Ain, for the first group competitions, in a match in which the host looks to rise again after its heavy loss in the first leg, 4-1.
Al-Fayhaa, which is participating for the first time in its history in the AFC Champions League, is away from the competition for the top spot in the standings, where Al-Ain comes with a full score of 9 points, compared to three points for Al-Fayhaa, which is in third place with the same point score as the runner-up, the Uzbek team Pakhtakor.
In the same group, Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor will be a guest against Ahal of Turkmenistan in Ashgabat Stadium, a confrontation with which the Uzbek team seeks to continue its victorious journey after achieving its first victory in this edition with a hat-trick against Ahal after a negative start.
2023-11-07 12:00:10
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