Koulibaly: Inzaghi has restored Al Hilal’s belief

Wed, 22 Oct, 2025

Koulibaly: Inzaghi has restored Al Hilal’s belief

Riyadh: Kalidou Koulibaly has credited head coach Simone Inzaghi for instilling renewed belief in the squad after Al Hilal SFC maintained their perfect start to the AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 with a 3-1 win over Qatar’s Al Sadd SC on Tuesday.

Senegalese Koulibaly, who has rediscovered his form under Inzaghi, played an instrumental role at Kingdom Arena and praised the Italian tactician's influence since his arrival.

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Shabab Al Ahli’s creativity thrills Sousa

Wed, 22 Oct, 2025

Shabab Al Ahli’s creativity thrills Sousa

Dubai: Shabab Al Ahli highlighted their AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 credentials with a dominant 4-1 win over PFC Nasaf on Tuesday, leaving head coach Paulo Sousa beaming with pride.

The United Arab Emirates side led from start to finish as Sousa saw his team run rings around the Uzbekistan champions, producing 21 shots with four different players getting on the scoresheet.

Players executed tactics to plan, says Machida’s Kuroda

Wed, 22 Oct, 2025

Players executed tactics to plan, says Machida’s Kuroda

Shanghai: FC Machida Zelvia may be in their debut AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 campaign but the Japanese outfit are showing they are no pushovers.

Go Kuroda’s side outplayed China PR’s Shanghai Port 2-0 at Pudong Football Stadium on Tuesday, with two first half goals through Fu Han (own goal) and Yuki Soma helping the Japan side to a historic first triumph on the continental stage.

Xisco hails ‘perfect’ JDT display

Wed, 22 Oct, 2025

Xisco hails ‘perfect’ JDT display

Chengdu: Head coach Xisco Munoz was over the moon after seeing his Johor Darul Ta’zim FC side pick up their first win of their AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 campaign on Tuesday.

The Spaniard could not hide his delight after the Malaysian side defeated China PR’s Chengdu Rongcheng FC 2-0 in a match played under difficult circumstances at Phoenix Hill Sports Park Football Stadium with the majority of the 39,093 crowd backing the home side.

Roh lauds Ulsan’s grit in win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Wed, 22 Oct, 2025

Roh lauds Ulsan’s grit in win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Ulsan: Head coach Roh Sang-rae heaped praise on his side’s resilience after Ulsan HD FC survived a late surge from Sanfrecce Hiroshima to claim a 1-0 victory in the AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 on Tuesday.

Kim Min-hyeok’s strike separated the sides going into the break before the K League 1 club had to endure sustained pressure to claim the three points.

Caputo delighted to have delivered for Melbourne City

Wed, 22 Oct, 2025

Caputo delighted to have delivered for Melbourne City

Melbourne: Max Caputo expressed delight after his dramatic stoppage-time winner handed Melbourne City a come from behind 2-1 win over Buriram United in their AFC Champions League Elite™ 2025/26 tie on Tuesday.

Buriram looked set to claim the points when Goran Causic put the Thai League 1 champions ahead in the 72nd minute with a clinical finish, only for City to respond late with Elbasan Rashani restoring parity in the 84th minute.

Caputo had the final say in the 97th minute, sending the home fans into celebration.