Namangan (AFP)
Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia, the runner-up of the last edition, joined the ranks of the finalists in the 16th round of the AFC Champions League, by defeating its host Nafbakhor of Uzbekistan 2-0, at the Central Stadium in Namangan, in the fifth and penultimate round of the fourth group.
The Brazilian “substitute” Malcolm Oliveira (68) and Salem Al-Dosari (85) scored the two goals, noting that the latter missed two penalty kicks, the first in the 11th minute, and the second in the 68th minute, which Malcolm took advantage of the rebound and opened the scoring.
Al Hilal secured the lead in the group with 13 points, with a three-point difference over its only competitor for the group ticket, Navpakhor, which will not be able to displace the Saudi team in the final sixth round, as the latter outperformed it in the two direct confrontations.
Al Hilal joined Al Ain of the Emirates in the first group, Al-Nasr of Saudi Arabia in the fourth, Kawasaki Frontale of Japan in the ninth, and Pohang Steelers of South Korea in the tenth.
Al-Hilal launched the attack from the beginning and besieged Navbakhor in its half of the field, and received a penalty kick when Serbian midfielder Jovan Jokic touched the ball with his hand inside the area. Al-Dossary responded to it, but his ball bounced off the right post and outside the field (11).
Al-Shehri almost scored at the beginning of the second half, after he received a wonderful ball from Abdullah Al-Hamdan, and penetrated and dribbled past goalkeeper Yusupov, but he shot into the side netting, and Yusupov continued his brilliance, blocking Al-Qahtani’s header in two attempts, after Muhammad Al-Breik’s cross (58).
Al-Hilal won a second penalty kick, following a handball by the other Serbian defender, Filip Ivanovic, and Al-Dossary took it again, but goalkeeper Yusupov blocked it this time, and it bounced off of him to Malcolm, who followed it into the goal from the first touch of the ball, seconds after he entered Al-Qahtani’s place. «68».
Al-Dosari made up for his disappointment in the two penalty kicks, when he added the third goal with a wonderful shot from the middle of the Navbakhor stadium, taking advantage of the progress of Uzbek goalkeeper Yusupov (85).
In the same group, Iran’s Nasaji Mazandaran beat its Indian counterpart, Mumbai City FC, 2-0, at Azadi Stadium in Tehran. Mohammad Reza Azadi (15) and Mumbai player Halin Nongtedu (32 fouls against his team) scored the two goals.
The final sixth round will be held on December 4, where Mumbai City will meet Navpakor in Pune, and Al Hilal will meet Nasaji Mazandaran in Riyadh.
In the first group, Al Ain, champions of the 2003 edition, and the guarantor of its qualification to the round of 16 for the current edition, suffered its first loss, against its guest, Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan, 1-3, while Al-Fayhaa of Saudi Arabia revived its hopes of competing for runner-up in the group, by defeating its guest, Ahal of Turkmenistan, also 3-1.
Al Ain qualified in the last round at the top of Group A with 12 points, from four consecutive victories, before suffering its first loss to Pakhtakor in a match it played in the second row.
Pakhtakor, for its part, raised its score in second place to 7 points, one point ahead of Al-Fayhaa, knowing that they meet in a heated summit to decide second place in the group in the last sixth round on the fifth of December next in Tashkent, while Ahal will play with Al-Ain in Ashgabat in a marginal match.
The champion of each group qualifies for the final 16, along with the three best second-placed clubs in the five groups of West Asia.
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