Al Sadd's Claudinho (left) vies for the ball with Al Ahli Saudi FC's Riyad Mahrez.
Defending champions Al Ahli Saudi FC fended off a spirited Al Sadd SC fightback to secure a 2-1 win in their AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite clash at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium yesterday.
Algerian international Riyad Mahrez put the visitors ahead, but the Wolves restored parity with a second-half strike by Claudinho before a Matheus Goncalves strike sealed the Saudi giants’ third victory this season.
With two losses and two draws, Al Sadd now sit on 10th position, while Al Ahli climbed to second spot after extending their unbeaten run to 22 matches overall in the continental tournament.
Al Sadd head coach Sergio Allegri praised his side’s display despite the loss and insisted they deserved a different outcome.
“We played a good match against a strong team, but luck was not on our side,” the Spaniard said after the match.
“Across both halves we did enough to take a positive result. We created several chances and did everything we could. The team has developed and there is still hope in this competition.”
Al Ahli custodian Edouard Mendy made several brilliant saves to deny Al Sadd, who dominated the proceedings earlier on. Al Sadd kept searching for an opener in the first half, with Rafa Mujica seeing his close-range effort from the centre of the box blocked in the seventh minute, and Mendy stopped Akram Afif’s shot from distance. Roberto Firmino also missed an opportunity in the 25th minute before Mujica’s close-range finish was ruled out for offside.
Mahrez broke the deadlock in the 34th minute, sweeping in from the centre of the box off a chance created by Enzo Millot.
With the half-time break approaching, Claudinho shot off target after receiving a cross from Afif before Mujica struck the bar in stoppage time.
The hosts found their reward in the 63rd minute when Afif once again created a chance for Claudinho, who this time shot into the top-right corner. However, their joy lasted only five minutes when Al Ahli’s Galeno made a pass to Goncalves, who shot from a tight angle past Al Sadd’s goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham.
