Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jeddah: 2018 AFC Champions League leading scorer Baghdad Bounedjah is relieved that missed chances did not come back to haunt Al Sadd after the Round of 16 win over Al Ahli on Monday.
Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah was again the man of the hour for Qatar's Al Sadd. In their Round of 16 second leg against Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli, the 26-year-old netted his eighth and ninth goals of the 2018 AFC Champions League to ensure a 2-2 draw on the night and a 4-3 aggregate win for Al Sadd.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jeddah: Two goals from Baghdad Bounedjah helped Al Sadd snatch a 2-2 draw away to Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in the second leg of their 2018 AFC Champions League Round of 16 clash on Monday, giving the Qatari side a 4-3 aggregate win and a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time since 2014.
Just like in the first leg, Al Sadd seized the initiative early on. The 2011 champions found the back of the net inside two minutes, with tournament top scorer Bounedjah dribbling into the box from the left before lashing in a fierce strike past Al Ahli keeper Mohammed Al Owais.
The visitors' delight did not last long as Al Ahli equalised in the ninth minute through Claudemir. The Brazilian midfielder was in the right place in the right time to nod home a header to make it 1-1 on the night.
Al Ahli went on to score another goal and it came just before halftime, when Mohannad Aseri capitalised on Abdelkarim Hassan's failure to clear the ball and tapped in from close range to level the aggregate scores in the 39th minute.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tehran: Seyed Jalal Hosseini's 89th minute strike gave Persepolis a 2-1 win over Al Jazira in the second leg of their 2018 AFC Champions League Round of 16 tie on Monday, with Persepolis advancing to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate.
Al Jazira survived 45 minutes of one-way traffic as Persepolis set up shop at their visitors’ end of the pitch in pursuit of an early leveller.
Despite the pressure, the Iranians could only muster a weak header from Siamak Nemati that was saved by goalkeeper Ali Khaseif and an effort from Farshad Ahmadzadeh that missed the target by a small margin as the two sides headed into the break level.
The home side finally found a breakthrough in the 63rd minute after a well-worked attacking move saw Ahmadzadeh lay-off a pass for Ahmad Nourollahi who struck with venom from 25 yards out into the top corner to put Persepolis in front.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Shanghai: Shanghai SIPG will aim to recover from a two-goal deficit when they host Kashima Antlers in the second leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 at Shanghai Stadium on Wednesday.
Goals from Yuma Suzuki and Daigo Nishi had Kashima two up inside 50 minutes of the first leg before an own-goal from Yu Hai with 15 minutes to play gave the Japanese side a three-goal cushion.
Elkeson pulled one back for Shanghai as the game ended 3-1, but the Chinese side will now need to post at least a two-goal winning margin if they are to have any chance of reaching a third successive quarter-final.
The hosts’ poor form of late continued at the weekend as they drew 1-1 with the Chinese Super League’s bottom side Guizhou Zhicheng, although their strong start to the season means they remain top of the standings.
Kashima are aiming to advance to the quarter-finals for the second time, having also appeared in 2008. They have not played in the J.League since the first leg and sit in 10th position in what has been a largely disappointing domestic campaign to date.