RIYADH: AFC Champions League Elite defending champions Al-Ahli got back on track on Monday after a turbulent start to their season, including a home draw with Pakhtakor in their first group match in the competition, and three defeats in their first eight games of the Saudi Pro League campaign.
Two years after heading a goal from a corner against Al-Wasl in 2024/25 Champions League, Roger Ibanez did it again to open the scoring in what would be a 3-1 away victory over the Emirati side. He met Francisco Trincao’s corner kick with a glancing header that beat goalkeeper Dinko Horkas and gave the visitors the lead in the 20th minute.
Tensions flared just before halftime when a number of players clashed, with Al-Wasl’s Adryelson and Al-Ahli’s Saleh Abu Al-Shamat at the center of it. The latter had gone down during a confrontation with the former, prompting the referee to consult the video assistant referee over a possible red card, but play eventually resumed without any further action being taken.
Moments later, Adryelson appeared to have leveled the scores, only for the assistant referee to raise his flag for offside. Pedro Malheiro did grab an equalizer for the hosts in first-half stoppage time, however, when he unleashed a long-range effort to which goalkeeper Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi managed to get a hand, but the ball cannoned off the post and into the net.
After conceding most of the possession in the first half to Al-Wasl, Marino Pusic’s side came out fighting with increased vigor in the second. Their renewed efforts were rewarded in the 58th minute when, after a deflected Ivan Toney shot, the ball fell to Trincao on the edge of the box and he elegantly placed it into the far corner to restore the lead.
An Al-Wasl attempt hit the post five minutes later, but the most dramatic moment of the second half came when Abu Al-Shamat was carried off on a stretcher with a shoulder injury. Then, as he was taken down the touchline, there was a confrontation between him and some Al-Wasl fans.
Al-Ahli added a third in stoppage time when Feras Al-Brikan got on the end of a Merih Demiral long ball to complete the victory.
This result marked Al-Wasl’s second consecutive loss at the hands of a Saudi side in the Champions League this season, following a 2-1 away defeat by Al-Qadsiah.
Uzbek side Pakhtakor drew 1-1 with a Saudi side for a second successive game in the competition, this time holding visitors Al-Qadsiah thanks to a late penalty in Tashkent. Tijjani Reijnders had opened the scoring when a cutback from Christopher Bonsu Baah found him in the box in the 35th minute, but Dostonbek Khamdamov leveled from the spot in the 89th minute.