DAMMAM: If there were any expectations that Tuesday night’s AFC Champions League encounter between Al-Hilal and Al-Sadd would live up to their thrilling Round-of-16 clash last season, when the former lost on penalties to the latter after playing out a 3-3 draw, those hopes were quickly dashed by what turned out to be a cagey affair that never came close to matching the quality in the final third that was on display during the game in April.
This might be attributable, at least in part, to Al-Hilal’s unusually long journey to Doha; instead of the usual 90-minute flight, the closure of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh due to recent attacks on Saudi Arabia forced the team to travel by bus, a journey of close to 600 km that took almost seven hours.
Moreover, with the threshold to qualification for the knockout stages relatively low (eight points from eight games was enough last season), and Al-Hilal’s quality evident even in the absence of Crysencio Summerville and Theo Hernandez, there was little need for Simone Inzaghi’s side to overcommit.
That said, Al-Sadd’s lack of attacking intensity under head coach Razvan Lucescu, compared with their approach under Roberto Mancini last season, certainly also played a part in the measured pace of the game.
That is not to say they did not threaten at all; in the 32nd minute, a deft pass from Akram Afif cut through Al-Hilal’s defense to Mohammed Al-Manai, who received the ball under pressure from Kalidou Koulibaly before finding a tight angle from which to test Yassine Bounou at his far post. The effort rattled the woodwork, however, and Al-Sadd would rue that miss just eight minutes later.
A clever move down the right flank involving Mohammed Mahzari, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Sultan Mandash allowed Mandash to break into space ahead of Al-Sadd’s defense and release Ollie Watkins. The Englishman was brought down by Agustin Soria in the box but managed to scramble a shot from the ground to open the scoring for the visitors and record his first-ever goal in the competition.
The second half followed a similar pattern: Al-Sadd could still move through Al-Hilal’s midfield but lacked the devastating final touch that served them so well last season. Even when they broke through in the 76th minute, a cross-box pass from Giovanni opening up some space for Roberto Firmino to shoot, the ball was cleared off the line by Koulibaly despite getting past Bounou.
By that point, Al-Hilal had already doubled their lead after Gabriel Martinelli broke through the midfield to release Watkins in transition, only for Paulo Otavio to block the resultant shot with his arm. A review by the video assistant referee confirmed the infringement, and Ruben Neves stepped up to fire the penalty confidently into the corner of the net.
Following a 2-1 home win over Al-Gharafa on Matchday 1, Tuesday’s victory maintained Al-Hilal’s 100 percent record after two games and left them joint top of Group B with Al-Ain of the UAE and Iranian side Esteghlal.
Next up in the competition they will face Al-Shamal on Oct. 27, their third consecutive Qatari opponent. After Tuesday’s defeat, and a 3-0 loss to Esteghlal on Matchday 1, Al-Sadd are still looking for their first point, and goal, of the competition, and will travel to Dammam on Oct. 26 to take on Al-Qadsiah.