AFC Champions League: Al-Sadd qualify for Round of 16 after beating Al-Ahli

Al-Sadd reached the AFC Champions League Round of 16 after a 2-1 win over Al-Ahli in their group stage Matchday 5 game, which was played on Monday at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.

The result gave Al-Sadd a tally of 10 points and an assured spot in the next round, with a game in hand.

Ali Asad gave the Wolves a 9th minute lead before Akram Afif douled the advantage three minutes later. Al-Ahli pulled a goal back through an Omar Al-Somah penalty in the 51st minute.

It was Al-Sadd who began the game on the front foot, with a period of sustained pressure early on. The efforts paid off in the ninth minute, when Ali Asad controlled an aerial pass from Afif before coolly finishing past Al-Ahli keeper Mohammed Al-Owais with the outside of his foot.

Afif then got on the scoresheet in the 12th minute, netting from a tight angle after Xavi’s initial shot was blocked by Al-Owais.

Al-Sadd’s domination continued thereafter, although no goals followed until halftime, which saw Al-Sadd take a 2-0 lead into the tunnel.

After the restart, Al-Ahli tried for a way back and were given a lifeline in the 51st minute, when Tareq Salman was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box. Syrian striker Al-Somah stepped up and converted the resulting penalty past Saad Al-Dosari to make the score 2-1.

Al-Sadd reacted to that development by looking to score again. In the 69th minute, Boualem Khoukhi had a great chance; but his shot went just over the crossbar. Baghdad Bounedjah then saw his effort get cleared off the line.

The last few minutes of the game saw action at both ends of the pitch but neither side were able to strike. Instead it ended 2-1 in favour of Al-Sadd, who booked their spot in the Round of 16, with one game remaining to be played against eliminated Persepolis in Tehran.

MATCH DETAILS:

Al-Sadd x Al-Ahli (AFC Champions League Group Stage – Matchday 5)

Venue:

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium

Lineups:

Al-Sadd: Saad Al-Dosari, Pedro Miguel, Abdelkarim Hassan, Tareq Salman, Khoukhi Boualem, Gabi, Jung Woo-young (Salem Al-Hajri), Xavi (Hassan Ahmed), Ali Asad (Yasir Abubakar), Baghdad Bounedjah, Akram Afif

Al-Ahli: Mohammed Al-Owais, Saeed Al-Muwallad, Mohammed Al-Fateel, Salman Al-Moasher, Omar Al-Somah (Ayman Al-Khalif), Abdulfattah Al-Assiri, Nouh Al-Mousa, Paolo Diaz, Hussein Sulaimani, Abdulrahman Ghareeb (Yousuf Al-Harbi), Aderlan Santos

Result:

Al-Sadd won 2-1

Goals:

Ali Asad 9′

Akram Afif 12′

Omar Al-Somah 51′ (PEN)

Bookings:

Abdelkarim Hassan 30′

Gabi 74′

Saad Al-Dosari 82′