Al Hilal Saudi Arabia claimed their third successive win in the AFC Champions League after squandering several easy chances against ten Mumbai City players in India with goals from Michael and Aleksandar Mitrovic to lead their group on goal difference away from Uzbekistan’s Navpakor.
Al Hilal coach George Jesus was right to warn the 30,000-plus fans against Mumbai amid frustration from the crowd over the absence of Brazil star Neymar due to injury. Although Al Hilal won the first leg 6-0 in Riyadh.
The club, who hold a record four titles in the competition, were unable to score despite having 75 per cent of the ball in the first half and lacked precision despite numerous opportunities.
Al Hilal, missing Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic due to injury, recklessly squandered easy chances when Salem Al Dosari, who recently won the Asian Player of the Year award, failed to score in front of an open goal and shot. Near the post in the 53rd minute.
A minute later, Al Hilal found the equalizer after Mumbai defender Singh was sent off, then Michael succeeded in heading home Mohamed Al Buraiq’s cross in the 62nd minute, and celebrated in rival Cristiano Ronaldo style. Al Nasser is the highest scorer.
It was Al-Brek’s 18th decisive pass in his history at left-back in the Champions League with Al-Hilal, and fifth this season.
The crossbar blocked Nasser Al-Dosari’s goal and Mitrovic finally sealed victory for the Saudi league leaders, heading home Malcolm’s pass five minutes from time.
Al Hilal have ten points from four matches and lead Group D on goal difference from Nawbahor, who beat Nasaki 3-1 in Iran.
As part of the third group matches, Al-Ittihad lost 2–0 to the Iraqi Air Force in front of over 15,000 spectators at the Francois Hariri Stadium in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil.
Ali Jassim (44) and Muhannat Abdul Rahim (52) scored two goals after Al-Quwa Al-Zawiyah beat Uzbekistan’s AGMK Olmalik 2-1 in the first over in the second round. Thus, the Iraqi team retaliated for losing in the last round. 0-1 at Al-Ittihad soil.
Despite suffering their first defeat after three straight wins, Al-Ittihad remained in the lead with 9 points, compared to second-placed Al-Quwa Al-Zawiya with 7 points.
The defeat comes to increase the pressure on Portugal coach Nuno Santo, whose team is going through a difficult period in the title-holding Saudi league, having failed to win in the last five stages and coming off a 0-1 defeat. At the hands of Al-Shabaab, it slipped to sixth place, 11 points behind leaders Al Hilal after 12 positions.
For its part, Al-Nasr will be looking to continue their exemplary run in the tournament amid expectations of a bigger crowd when they play host to Qatari side Al-Tuhail in the Qatari capital, Doha. , in addition to pre-clash ticket sales.
Al-Nasr team captain Cristiano Ronaldo, the legendary Portuguese star, was expected by the crowd, but the latter failed to accompany the delegation and stayed behind in the capital Riyadh after his compatriot Luis Castro. – Nasr wants to rest him after the next matches to avoid fatigue.
Al-Nasr entered the group on top with a full score of five (9 points) and managed to secure a stunning win against Al-Tuhail in the first leg, which ended 4-3 and saw the brilliance of star player Cristiano Ronaldo. , who scored a double against Al-Tuhail.
The Capital Yellow has several attacking solutions, and despite the absence of its main star Ronaldo, it brings back Brazilian Talisca, who missed the team’s last match against the Gulf. Saudi Football Federation.
In the absence of Ronaldo for the match against Al-Tuhail, Spaniard Laporte did not accompany the delegation to the Qatari capital Doha, which will make the task difficult for the team’s defensive elements.
If Al-Nasr wins, Al-Tuhail’s points will give them great morale heading into the next round, especially as Al-Nasr have managed to win their last three matches.
As for Qatar’s Al-Tuhail, which showed more skills on the offensive side, especially in the last Al-Nasr tournament, it will look forward to regaining its reputation and recording a positive result that will contribute to giving the team a final chance. Compete for the second qualifying card from this group.
Qatar’s Al-Tuhail has a point to its credit and is third in the group standings, eight points behind the leaders (Al-Nasr). This evening, apart from the Brazilian Coutinho, they are also betting on their star Almos Ali. , the former Barcelona and Liverpool star, was impressive in the first leg but did not score in the first leg. Same after multiple tries.
In the same group, Iranian side Persepolis will look to continue their perfect start after losing in the first round as they host Tajikistan’s Istiklal Dushanbe, whom the Iranian side managed to defeat in the first leg that brought them together in the capital, Tehran. Iran in the last round.
In Riyadh, Al-Fayhaa host their rivals Emirati side Al-Ain in their first group match where the hosts will look to bounce back from a heavy 4-1 loss in the first leg.
Participating in the AFC Champions League for the first time in their history, Al-Fayha are out of contention for the top spot in the standings, where Al-Ain comes in with a full score of 9 points compared to three points. Second-placed Uzbekistan side Bakhtakor have the same points as third-placed Al-Fayha.
In the same group, Uzbekistan’s Bakhtakor will host Turkmenistan’s Ahal at the Ashgabat Stadium in a clash where the Uzbekistan team will look to continue their winning streak after picking up their first win in this edition. Start.
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