Al Duhail back on track with Persepolis' defeat; Bounedjah's goal confirms ACL knockout stage for Al Sadd
Al Duhail boosted their chances of qualifying into the knockout stages of the 2020 AFC Champions League with a 1-0 defeat of Iran's Persepolis, courtesy of a penalty goal by Almoez Ali, in Group C. At the same time, Al Sadd left it late to secure a valuable point as Baghdad Bounedjah helped them to a 1-1 draw in their Group D encounter against Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr yesterday.
Al Duhail, who suffered an agonizing 2-4 defeat in the hands of Sharjah FC three days ago, needed the win to boost their chances of qualifying into the knockout stage, while victory for the Iranians, who entered the match as group leaders with seven points, would have almost secured their passage into the Round of 16 as they go top into the final matchday.
Scoring chances were far, and few between in the first half of the match held at the recently opened Education City Stadium, one of the venues of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as caution seemed to be the watchword for the two sides.
Persepolis had the opportunity to draw the first blood as they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the area after a dangerous play from Ali on Shojae Khalilzadeh with three minutes to the break. Bashar Resan's resultant effort, however, could not hit the target despite beating Al Duhail's wall.
A quick exchange of passes at the other end saw Ramin Rezaeian break free in space down the right, but the former Persepolis player watched as goalkeeper Hamed Lak parried his effort.
Al Duhail were more determined after the restart as they put more pressure on the Iranians. Their efforts finally paid off in the 58th minute as they bagged a penalty after a massive Khalilzadeh aerial challenge on Edmilson inside the box.
Al Duhail captain Ali stepped up and fired home his third goal of the 2020 AFC Champions League to put the Qatari side in front.
Persepolis almost got an equalizer six minutes later only for Isa Al Kasir to fluff the chance. The 30-year-old player unexpectedly sent his shot wide from six yards with an empty goal at his mercy, after goalkeeper Mohammed Al Bakri had parried Resan's shot into his path.
The Iranian continued to push forward for an equalizer but found themselves faced with a robust Al Duhail defense and were unable to break through until the final whistle.
The result means Al Duhail now leap above previous leaders Persepolis, reaching nine points for the campaign and enhancing their fortunes ahead of the final matchday.
Persepolis and Sharjah, who are locked together in second and third place on seven points, meet in Friday's first showdown before the group leaders Al Duhail take on Saudi bottom side Al Taawoun who are on six points.
Al Sadd hold Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr to draw
Baghdad Bounedjah's 87th-minute goal rescued a point for Al Sadd as the coach Xavi team confirmed their Round of 16 qualifications with a 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday.
The result ensured the knockout stage qualifications for the two sides, irrespective of the results of matchday 6, with Al Nassr topping Group D with 11 points while Al Sadd follow with nine points.
The other two members of the group, Iran's Sepahan and Al Ain of the UAE who played a goalless draw in the other fixture of the day, are out of contention with four and two points respectively.
Both teams had shared the spoils when they met on Matchday Two, with top scorer Abderrazak Hamdallah and Abdulrahman Al Obaid getting on the scoresheet for Al Nassr, while Hassan Al Haydos' goal was supplemented with Abdulelah Al Amri's own goal to for Al Sadd.
The two sides showcased why they are the top-scoring sides in the competition with chances coming as early as the fifth minute of play. Bounedjah had a fantastic opportunity of opening the scoring from a beautifully weighted pass from Korea Republic man Nam Tae-hee, but the Algerian fired wide.
Another chance fell to the Qatar Stars League side when Akram Afif cut inside from the left flank and started a string of pitch-wide passes that went through Nam and Bounedjah before Hassan al-Haydos angled a shot into the top corner, but Brad Jones' acrobatic brilliance denied the Al Sadd captain.
Abdulfatah Adam was responsible for missing the first big chance that fell to the Saudi Pro League side, after Guilherme was dispossessed in midfield, the result of which was a high ball that Adam chased down before lashing a stinging shot on goal that keeper Saad Al Sheeb pushed out.
The Saudi outfit eventually registered their goal in the 22nd minute when Khalid Al Ghannam latched on to a throw-in, raced to the byline, danced past Ro-Ro and beat Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb with a low drive from a tight angle.
That first-half goal looked to be the one that would clinch the game, but Boundejah's left-foot strike beat former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones in Al Nassr's goal with three minutes left and gave Xavi Hernandez's side a round-of-16 ticket.
"It was a tough game. We were not good enough in the first half, and in the second half, we were better. We had to play in the first half as we did in the second. Today, we showed two faces of the team in the two halves. I'm angry with the first half, and happy with the second," Xavi said at the post-match press conference.
He added that they were satisfied with the point though the team have to change and improve on their performance going forward.
Matchday Six will see Al Sadd face Sepahan while Al Nassr will face Al Ain.
The group stage of the western half of the continent's premier club competition resumed in Qatar last week after a seven-month coronavirus shutdown.
Matches in the four East Asian groups resume in a hub in Malaysia in October. The final will be in Doha on December 19.
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