Al Sadd, Al Ain share points in thrilling tie

United Arab Emirates’ Al Ain left it late to secure a 1-1 draw against Qatar’s Al Sadd in a thrilling AFC Champions League Elite 2024/25 opener at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on Monday.
Feared striker Akram Affif gave Al Sadd the lead in the closing stages of the first half, before Matias Palacios equalised for AFC Champions League 2023/24 winners Al Ain in the 80th minute for a share of the points.
Both sides wasted early chances with Al Sadd’s Afif pulling his shot wide in the third minute, while Al Ain’s Soufiane Rahimi miscued a volley two minutes later.
Al Ain threatened again in the 11th minute when Rahimi beat the offside trap, only for his shot to bounce off the left post before he was denied again by Al Sadd keeper Meshaal Barsham in the 21st minute.
Al Sadd came close to breaking the deadlock in the 20th minute, Afif timing his dummy run before setting up Mohamed Camara for a powerful strike that forced a save from Khalid Eisa.
Barsham kept Al Sadd in the game with a string of fine saves, including parrying away a dangerous effort from Matias Palacios in the 29th minute.
The breakthrough finally came a minute into added time, when Afif weaved his way through the Al Ain defence.
His initial effort was blocked by Fabio Cardoso, but the rebound fell kindly for the Al Sadd captain, who calmly slotted the ball into an empty net.
Al Sadd started the second half on the front foot with Paulo Otavio setting up Rafael Mujica, who pulled his effort just wide, while Al Ain played in patches, with Fabio Cardoso, Kodjo Laba Kaku Romero all missing their chances.
The Qatar champions came close to doubling their advantage in the 64th minute after Otavio opened up play on the left before teeing up Mujica, whose effort bounced off the bar.
With 10 minutes remaining, Al Ain equalised through Palacios, whose initial effort was blocked before the Argentine midfielder struck a long range shot which took a deflection before settling into the back of the net.
Al Shorta, Al Nassr in 1-1 drawIraq’s Al Shorta held Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia to a 1-1 draw in their opening AFC Champions League Elite 2024/25 League Stage match in Baghdad on Monday.
Missing Cristiano Ronaldo and Aymeric Laporte, Al Nassr found the going tough at Al-Madina International Stadium and in the end, had to settle for a point. It was a nervy start for the Saudi side with goalkeeper Bento’s misplaced pass going straight to Bassam Shakir but luckily for Al Nassr, Mohamed Simakan managed to block the Al Shorta midfielder’s shot.
Luis Castro’s men recovered to strike the first blow in the 14th minute after Sultan Al Ghannam latched onto Otavio’s delightful pass, with the Al Nassr captain calmly picking his spot in the bottom corner.
The home side found their way back into the game in the 24th minute when Mohammed Dawood benefited from a mix-up between Simakan and Salem Al Nadji to plant a precise shot into the top corner. Al Shorta were then awarded a penalty in the 40th minute after Simakan blocked Dawood’s run, however, it was changed to a free-kick after a VAR check deemed the infringement occurred outside the box.
Al Nassr started the better of the two sides in the second half, a first-time pass from Sadio Mane in the 50th minute found Anderson Taslica in space and the Brazilian’s shot required a fingertip save from Ahmed Basil.
Talisca again caused concern to Al Shorta’s defence when his powerful long range shot took a deflection off Abdurazzaq Qasim to leave Basil stranded, only for the ball to sail narrowly wide.
In another ACL Elite clash, Iranian football powerhouse Esteghlal last night beat Qatar’s Al Gharafa 3-0 at Shohada Shahr-e Qods Stadium.