Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Doha: Al Duhail will take a commanding 4-2 lead into the second leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 match with Al Ain at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium on Tuesday as they look to seal a place in the quarter-finals.
Goals from Youssef El Arabi and Nam Tae-hee had the Qatari side two goals up at the interval last week, before Ismail Mohammad and Almoez Ali added a further two inside the hour as a seventh AFC Champions League win on the bounce was all but assured.
The 2015 AFC Player of the Year Ahmed Khalil and Ibrahim Diaky pulled two back, though, to mean Al Ain travel to Doha with at least a glimmer of hope ahead of a match in which they will most likely need to post a three-goal winning margin to progress.
Lucas Mendes will return from suspension for the hosts, while both Hussein El Shahat and Mohanad Salem do likewise for the visitors. Brazilian Caio is suspended for Al Ain after his late dismissal in the first leg.
Al Duhail’s incredible winning run extended to 19 games at the weekend when Ali scored the only goal of the game against Al Sadd to ensure a place in next weekend's Emir Cup final.