AFC Champions League: Al-Sadd lose to Al-Nassr in quarterfinal first leg

Al-Sadd fell to a 2-1 defeat to Saudi side Al-Nassr in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarterfinal clash on Monday evening, at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.

Ali Asad opened the scoring for Al-Sadd in the 21st minute before Abdulrahman Al-Dosari equalised for Al-Nassr in the 43rd minute. Giuliano scored Al-Nassr’s second goal in the 72nd minute.

The second leg will be played at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on the 16th of September.

The match got off to an intense start, with Al-Nassr looking the more dangerous early on, egged on by their spirited fans. Al-Sadd were cautious but were given a scare in the 12th minute, when Al-Nassr’s Saleh Al-Abbas’s fierce shot bounced off the right post.

Al-Sadd soon got into gear and took the lead in the 21st minute through Asad. Abdelkarim Hassan played in a low cross from the left to Hassan Al-Haydos, who was unable to control it; the ball then fell to Asad, who sent a first-time shot past the Al-Nassr keeper Brad Jones to make it 1-0.

Asad’s strike made Al-Nassr push forward in search of an equaliser and they threatened the Al-Sadd defence with continuous attacks, only to be repelled. The Saudi side finally succeeded two minutes before halftime, when Al-Sadd’s Jung Woo-young failed to clear a corner and Abdulrahman Al-Dosari promptly slotted the ball to equalise.

In the second half, there was an improvement in Al-Sadd’s play. Akram Afif sent a dangerous through ball for Baghdad Bounedjah in the 50th minute; the Algerian striker was brought down but the referee blew for offside. Then, Abdelkarim Hassan had a go at goal from the left and Jones had trouble keeping it out.

Xavi made his first change in the 70th minute, taking off goalscorer Asad and replacing him with Abdulaziz Al-Ansari.

Two minutes later, Al-Sadd were dealt a blow as Al-Nassr took the lead. Amrabat’s cross from the left caused problems for the Al-Sadd defence and they were left helpless, as substitute Firas Al-Buraikan headed the ball back across for Giuliano to nod in past Al-Dosari.

The Wolves searched for a way back and tried to equalise but to no avail. Hashim Ali replaced Hassan Al-Haydos late on but there would be no more goals and the game ended 2-1 in Al-Nassr’s favour.

MATCH DETAILS:

Al-Sadd x Al-Nassr (2019 AFC Champions League quarterfinal first leg)

Venue:

King Fahd International Stadium

Lineups:

Al-Sadd: Saad Al-Dosari, Pedro Miguel, Abdelkarim Hassan, Khoukhi Boualem, Tarek Salman, Jung Woo-young, Ali Asad (Abdulaziz Al-Ansari), Baghdad Bounedjah, Hassan Al-Haydos (Hashim Ali), Akram Afif

Al-Nassr: Brad Jones, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Omar Hawsawi, Nouredin Amrabat, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Saleh Al Abbas (Firas Al-Buraikan), Abdullah Mado, Awad Khamees, Fahad Al-Jamea (Hamad Al-Mansour), Abdulrahman Al-Dosari, Giuliano De Paula

Result:

Al-Nassr won 2-1

Goals:

Ali Asad 21′

Abdulrahman Al-Dosari 43′

Giuliano de Paula 72′

Bookings:

Akram Afif 25′

Fahad Al-Jamea 30′

Abdulrahman Al-Dosari 90′

Referees:

Match referee: Valentin Kovalenko
Linesman 1: Andrey Tsapenko
Linesman 2: Timur Gaynullin
Fourth official: Ruslan Serazitdinov