Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Al Ahli forward Eslam Sarraj has been named the Toyota Player of the Week for Matchday Five of the AFC Champions League after scoring twice as the former finalists from Saudi Arabia kept their hopes for a place in the last 16 alive with a 4-1 win over Qatar’s El Jaish.
Sarraj scored in either half in the Group D contest at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium as third-placed Al Ahli closed the gap to Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in second place to just one point heading into next month’s final round of group stage fixtures.
Sarraj also completed 20 of 29 passes and won two duels to attract a rating of 8.6 and finish at the top of the standings ahead of Jiangsu FC duo Wu Xi and Jo as well as Al Ittihad’s Abdulrahman Al Ghamdi.
Click here for the full results of the Toyota Player of the Week for the 2016 AFC Champions League
Jiangsu midfielder Wu scored and completed 61 of 64 passes as the Chinese Super League side beat Vietnam’s Becemex Binh Duong 3-0 in Group E, while Brazilian team-mate Jo was also on target and provided an assist at the Olympic Sports Center in Nanjing as the pair earned a rating of 8.3 alongside Al Ghamdi.
Al Ghamdi scored twice and provided an assist as two-time champions Al Ittihad from Saudi Arabia beat Iran’s Sepahan 4-0 to remain in the hunt for qualification from Group A.
Zobahan’s Ehsan Pahlavan narrowly missed out on joining the trio as the midfielder’s two goals in the 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr were enough to attract a rating of 8.2 this week as the Iranian side qualified for the last 16 as Group B winners.
Photo: Lagardère Sports