DOHA: Bafetimbi Gomis starred as Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal took a giant step toward the AFC Champions League final with a 4-1 drubbing of Qatari giants Al Sadd, coached by Xavi, in the first leg of their semifinal clash in Doha on Tuesday.
Gomis went from villain to hero by equalising for Al Hilal after having helped Al Sadd go ahead in the 14th minute with an own goal, while Ali Al-Bulayhi and Mohamed Al-Shalhoub also netted for the visitors at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium
Al Sadd’s Salem Al-Hajjiri also scored an own goal to help boost the visitors’ score before the second leg clash in Riyadh on October 22.
Al Sadd and Al Hilal have a storied history in the West Asian region, both teams having won the Champions League on two occasions.
But Al Hilal had won only once before in their nine away encounters against Al Sadd, a fact that must have boosted Xavi and his men’s confidence ahead of the match.
On Tuesday, however, the home side failed to make their chances count, and to make matters worse for them Abdelkarim Hassan was sent off in the 35th minute — for a foul and then for arguing with the referee.
Needless to say the exit of the defender — who was named Asian Player of the Year in 2018 — was a big blow for Xavi’s side as they struggled to contain the Al Hilal forward, of whom Gomis was a constant threat.
Al Sadd were more enterprising in the early stages with Akram Afif and Hassan Al-Haydos excelling up front and creating quite a few chances.
Afif elicited a fine save from goalkeeper Abdulla Al-Mayouf and later found his shot from close hit the upright much to the disappointment of the near-capacity crowd.
But luck shone on the hosts in the 14th minute when Al-Haydos cut in from the right off a corner and shot across the goalmouth, only for Gomis to attempt a clearance with the ball ending up in the Al Hilal net.
Gomis, however, made amends in the 33rd minute with a simple finish after a cross from Sebastian Giovinco following a defensive lapse involving Tarek Salman and Boualem Khoukhi.
Just before the first half ended, Al Sadd conceded another goal with Al-Bulyahi heading home from close range after the ball was nodded on to him off a corner by Giovinco.
Gomis was also involved in Al Hilal’s third goal when under pressure from him Al-Hajjri was forced to make contact with the ball inside the six yard box and sent it into his own net as Al Hilal went 3-1 up in the 60th minute.
Al Hilal completed the rout in the 67th minute when Al-Shalhoub received Mohamed Kanno’s pass and drilled it into the bottom of the net.
Gomis shines as Al Hilal drub Xavi’s Al Sadd 4-1
Gomis shines as Al Hilal drub Xavi’s Al Sadd 4-1
- Gomis went from villain to hero by equalising for Al Hilal after having helped Al Sadd go ahead in the 14th minute with an own goal
- Saudi team take a giant step toward the AFC Champions League final
Rajkovic excels as Al-Ittihad cruise to victory against Al-Shabab
- Al-Ittihad secure fifth Saudi Pro League win of the season with a 2-0 victory
JEDDAH: It has not been the start to the season that Al-Ittihad fans had anticipated. Nevertheless, on their return to Saudi Pro League action after a 36-day hiatus, the defending champions delivered a performance that offered renewed confidence ahead of a demanding run of seven matches in the space of 30 days.
The opening exchanges proved far from straightforward for The Tigers.
Attempting to play out from the back, they were punished within the first two minutes as Abdullah Matuq pounced on a mistake to find himself one-on-one with Predrag Rajkovic, only for the Serbian goalkeeper to produce the first of several crucial saves. Just 60 seconds later, Rajkovic was called into action again, this time denying a header from a corner.
Momentum soon shifted. Roger Fernandes began to cause problems down the left wing, his quick footwork getting the better of Al-Shabab’s defence before he delivered a low cross into the box. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, aided by Karim Benzema’s intelligent screening of Saad Balobaid, met it to open the scoring in the 16th minute.
Al-Ittihad came close to doubling their advantage in the 28th minute. Mohannad Al-Shangeeti struck the far post with a powerful effort, before his follow-up attempt narrowly missed the target, drifting wide of Marcelo Grohe’s goal.
Grohe was later called upon to keep Al-Shabab in the contest, producing a fine save in the 58th minute to deny Benzema after the Frenchman was released by a perfectly weighted pass from Steven Bergwijn.
Al-Ittihad continued to dominate possession, though Imanol Alguacil’s side managed to limit Fernandes’ influence by committing extra defensive cover on the left flank.
That adjustment failed to account for Al-Shangeeti’s runs from deep, as he surged down the right to find Bergwijn, who finished first time to seal the contest for the hosts in the 85th minute.
Late substitute Abdulaziz Al-Bishi thought he had added a third in the closing stages, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
The win lifts Al-Ittihad into sixth place on 17 points, while Al-Shabab remain just two points above the relegation zone, extending their winless run to eight matches since their Matchday 2 victory over Al-Hazem.
