Razvan: Al Sadd must achieve the best result against Al Hilal

The Qatari Al-Gharafa team lost at its home stadium and among its fans to the Iranian Esteghlal, 1-2, on Monday evening, in the second round of the Al-Gharb Group in the AFC Elite Football Champions League.

The visitors took the lead with Yasser Assani's goal in the 38th minute of the match held at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium, ending the first half with the Iranian team superior.

Three minutes into the second half, Al-Gharafa equalized with a goal by Tunisian midfielder Ferjani Sassi.

But Esteghlal regained its advantage again with a second goal scored by Hossein Goudarzi in the 60th minute.

With this result, the Iranian Esteghlal raises its score to 6 points in second place, trailing on goal difference from Al Ain, the Emirati club, which has the lead, while Al Gharafa remains without a score in thirteenth place in the ranking table out of 16 clubs.

In the third round, which will be held in late October, Al-Gharafa will be a guest of Al-Ahly Jeddah of Saudi Arabia, while Esteghlal of Iran will play away from home to Shabab Al-Ahly of the Emirates.

The Iranian team began its campaign with a 3-0 victory over Al-Sadd of Qatar, while Al-Gharafa lost to Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia with a score of 1-2.

A scoreless draw prevailed over the match between Iranian Traktor and Qatari Al-Shamal, on Monday, at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex Stadium in Muscat, in the second round of Al-Gharb Group matches in the league stage of the AFC Elite Football Champions League.

The draw is the second for Al-Shamal in the continental championship. He began his campaign with a 1-1 draw with Al-Ittihad Saudi Arabia, thus raising his score to two points.

As for Tractor, it scored its first point after losing its first match 0-1 against Shabab Al-Ahly of the Emirates.

The levels of the two teams were similar during the match in terms of the percentage of ball possession, offensive pressure, and the scarcity of real scoring opportunities.

Al-Shamal's Federico Paes shot a ball with his left foot from outside the penalty area in the 53rd minute, but Traktor's goalkeeper, Parsa Jaafari, blocked it.

Also, Traktor's Daniel Ismailfar shot a ball with his left foot from close range in the 57th minute, but Al-Shamal's goalkeeper, Babacar Sek, blocked it brilliantly.

Each team will play 8 matches in the league stage, with the best 8 teams from both the West and East groups qualifying for the round of 16 in the tournament.

The round of 16 competitions will be held next March, then the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final competitions will be held in a group system in Saudi Arabia.

Andre Jardin, coach of the UAE's Al-Ahly youth, confirmed his team's readiness to face Al-Ittihad, tomorrow (Tuesday), in the elite AFC Champions League competitions, indicating that the Saudi team has great potential, and that its recent loss to Al-Hilal does not diminish its strength.

Jardine said in the press conference: “I am very happy to be here and the wonderful reception we received. We worked well, and we are waiting for a big confrontation, and we hope for success.”

He added: “Al-Ittihad is a wonderful team that cannot be underestimated. It has been well prepared, and I expect it to take the initiative offensively.” We prepared well from both the defensive and organizational standpoints, focusing on strength in the duels.”

In response to Asharq Al-Awsat’s question about the nature of the expected confrontation, he said: “Shabab Al-Ahly has a good team, and we will play with a balance between attack and defense. We lost a lot of players during the international break, in addition to a decline in the level of some players, but we always strive to provide a strong confrontation. Al-Ittihad’s loss to Al-Hilal does not mean diminishing it.”

For his part, Eid Khamis, the Shabab Al-Ahly player, praised the warm reception in Saudi Arabia, and said: “We thank you for the warm reception, and this is not strange to Saudi Arabia and the Saudis, who are known for their generosity and hospitality. We ask God to maintain security and safety in Saudi Arabia and all Gulf countries.”

Regarding the impact of the public attendance, he added: “Al-Ittihad fans give their team the advantage by playing on their home soil, and we know the strength of the Al-Ittihad fans. “We enjoy playing here, and we strive to do well and not let the public presence affect us.”