Al-Sadd lose to Esteghlal on penalties, exit ACL 2017

Al-Sadd were denied a place in the 2017 AFC Champions League group stage after losing to Esteghlal 3-4 on penalties (0-0 after full time) in the playoff match held at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Tuesday.

Hassan Al-Haydos, Xavi and Baghdad Bounedjah converted their penalties while Ibrahim Majid and Mohammed Kasola missed.

Spirited start

The match started with both teams showing spirit and intensity. Esteghlal banked on the support of their fans and went on the attack but the Al-Sadd defence was always on hand to protect their goal.

In the 3rd minute, Abdelkarim Hassan dribbled down the left and played in a cross which did not reach the oncoming Baghdad Bounedjah. Esteghlal thought they had taken the lead in the 8th minute when Rezaei finished off a cross from the left but the referee denied the goal as Rezaei was deemed to be offside. Xavi then had a great chance for Al-Sadd but his shot went slightly wide of the right post.

Balanced approach from Al-Sadd amidst pressure from Esteghlal

Al-Sadd proceeded to take a balanced approach to attacking and defending, while responding the unsystematic pressure from Esteghlal. The Wolves played with a 4-2-3-1 formation which had a back four of Hamed Ismail, Ibrahim Majid, Morteza Pouraliganji and Abdelkarim Hassan. Pedro and Mohamed Kasola were in central midfield while Xavi, Ali Asad and Jugurtha Hamroun formed the attacking trio playing behind lone striker Baghdad Bounedjah.

Both teams attack without any danger

The attempts from both teams to control the match continued but had no results with the increase in midfield presence, which denied any one team the ability to dictate play. In the final few minutes of the half, Al-Sadd had a couple of chances to score. In the 41st minute, Xavi threaded a through ball between the defenders to striker Bounedjah but the the ball was cleared at the last moment. Xavi then went on a dribble, getting past multiple players before shooting at goal but Esteghlal keeper Mehdi Rahmati saved the effort. The referee then blew his whistle for halftime, with the score at 0-0.

Al-Sadd make no changes in the second half

Al-Sadd began the second half with the same lineup as they ended the first. Both teams cancelled each other out leading to a period of no real danger at either side. In the 59th minute, Xavi played in a dangerous cross from the left but the defence cleared it for a corner.

Al-Haydos replaces Ali Asad

Head coach Jesualdo Ferreira made his first change of the match in the 64th minute, bringing on Hassan Al-Haydos in place of Ali Asad. Al-Haydos went on to play in the right side of the attack. In the 68th minute, Xavi tried to set up Bounedjah with a long through ball but Rahmati was once again in position to save it. Abdelkarim Hassan then dribbled down the left and sent a powerful shot at goal but it went above the crossbar.

Saddawi pressure

The final 15 minutes of the second half saw increased pressure from the Al-Sadd players as they looked to score. In the 77th minute, Bounedjah dribbled past and tried to score but the danger was cleared. Xavi then had a great shot at goal in the 79th minute but the keeper saved it with some difficulty. Al-Sadd were denied a penalty in the 86th minute when referee Ahmed Al-Kaf refused to adjudge handball when the ball hit the hand of defender Miladpour. The referee went on to signal for two minutes of additional time before blowing to singal fulltime.

Khalfan comes on

With the start of the first half of extra time, Khalfan Ibrahim replaced Jugurtha Hamroun in the Al-Sadd team. Both teams continued to cancel each other out which was a result of the caution shown by both of them. In the 103rd minute, Abdelkarim Hassan took a powerful shot from outside the box but the effort went over the crossbar. The referee then ended the first half of extra time.

Disappointing second half

Things did not change in the second half with both teams showing spirit but not enough to pose any danger. Both teams threw attacks at each other but each attack lost its danger at the edge of the box. Soon after that, the referee signalled for penalties.

MATCH DETAILS

Al-Sadd x Esteghlal (2017 AFC Champions League playoff round)

Lineups:

Al-Sadd: Saad Al-Dosari, Morteza Pouraliganji, Ibrahim Majid, Hamed Ismail, Abdelkarim Hassan, Pedro, Mohamed Kasola, Xavi, Ali Asad (Hassan Al-Haydos), Jugurtha Hamroun (Khalfan), Baghdad Bounedjah.

Esteghlal: M. Rahmati, V. Ghafouri (Heydari), Padovani, Robson, M. Zakipour, O. Ebrahimi, O. Noorafkan, K. Rezaei, B. Barzay (Karimi), Ali Ghorbani, M. Haghdoust (Esmaieli)

Result:

0-0 (Esteghlal won 4-3 on penalties)

Bookings:

Hamed Ismail 45′

Behnam Barzay 52′

Jugurtha Hamroun 63′

Sayed Mohsin 105″

Referees:

Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman) Main referee

Hamid Sulayman (Oman)

Abubakr Al-Omari (Oman)