AFC Champions League: Bounedjah brace helps Al-Sadd to the knockout stage after 2-1 win over Al-Wasl

Al Sadd secured a spot the knockout stage of the 2018 AFC Champions League after a 2-1 win over Al Wasl of the UAE, in their Group C clash on Monday.

Baghdad Bounedjah scored a brace while Caio Canedo pulled a goal back for Al Wasl deep in injury time, as Al-Sadd did enough to ensure qualification with a game to spare.

Al-Sadd got off to fiery start and took the lead in the ninth minute, when Bounedjah pounced on a weak back-pass before finishing past Al Wasl keeper Yousif Abdulla to score his sixth goal of the tournament.

In the 29th minute, Al-Sadd thought they had scored a second goal after Xavi finished off Bounedjah’s pass but the effort was ruled out by the linesman after the Algerian striker was deemed to be in an offside position before his headed pass.

Jesualdo Ferreira’s side looked to be in further control of the match and went looking for a second goal, putting constant pressure on the Al-Wasl defence for the remainder of the first half. However, the result stayed intact until halftime.

After the resumption, Al-Sadd had goalkeeper Saad Al-Dosari to thank, after he did well to keep out a powerful curling free-kick from Al-Wasl’s Ronaldo Mendes in the 53rd minute.

Minutes later, Bounedjah netted again to double Al-Sadd’s lead, after converting Akram Afif’s cross with a cheeky backheel. Al-Sadd had further chances to score but both Afif and Bounedjah were unable to convert. In the latter stages of the game, Ferreira replaced Hassan Al-Haydos and Abdelkarim Hassan with Ali Asad and Khoukhi Boualem respectively.

Bounedjah had a golden opportunity to complete his hat-trick in the 90th minute but he sent his shot wide. Al Wasl then scored a consolation goal in the second minute of injury time through Caio Canedo, after which the referee blew his whistle to signal a 2-1 win for Al-Sadd.

MATCH DETAILS

Al-Sadd x Al-Wasl (AFC Champions League Matchday Five – Group C)

Venue:

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Al-Sadd SC

Lineups:

Al-Sadd: Saad Al-Dosari, Pedro Miguel, Yasir Abubakar, Xavi, Hassan Al-Haydos (Ali Asad), Baghdad Bounedjah, Hamid Ismail, Abdelkarim Hassan (Khoukhi Boualem), Salem Al-Hajri, Ahmed Suhail (Morteza Pouraliganji), Akram Afif

Al-Wasl: Yousif Abdulla, Abdulrahman Ali, Abdullah Saleh, Abdulla Jassim, Anthony Caceres, Fabio Lima, Ronaldo Mendes, Hamad Al-Bloushi (Khalil Khamis), Hazza Al Faresi (Ali Abdulla), Humaid Abbas, Ali Saleh (Caio)

Result:

Al-Sadd won 2-1

Goals:

Baghdad Bounedjah 9′, 53′

Caio Canedo 90+2′

Bookings:

Abdulrahman Ali 45′

Abdelkarim Hassan 71′

Referees:

Ryuji Sato (Main referee)

Toru Sagawa (Linesman)

Hiroshi Yamauchi (Linesman)

Baraa Kamaal (Fourth official)