BEIRUT: The AFC Champions League Elite 2024-25 league stage draw in Kuala Lumpur on Friday puts three leading Saudi clubs in highly competitive home and away matches.
Roshn Saudi League clubs Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli will each play eight games, four home and four away, according to the recently revamped men’s continental club competition that will feature two leagues of 12 teams in West and East regions.
Pro League champions and Super Cup holders Al-Hilal play four home games against Iran’s Persepolis and Esteghlal, Iraq’s Al-Shorta and Al-Gharafa of Qatar. Their away matches will be against Qatar’s Al-Sadd and Al-Rayyan, and Al-Ain and Al-Wasl of the UAE.
Al-Nassr, meanwhile, play four away matches against Persepolis and Esteghlal of Iran, Iraq’s Al-Shorta and the Qatari club Al-Gharafa. They will host Emirati clubs Al-Ain and Al-Wasl, Qatar’s Al-Sadd and Al-Rayyan on their home pitch.
The third Saudi representative, Al-Ahli, host Iraq’s Al-Shorta, Qatar’s Al-Gharafa, and Persepolis and Esteghlal of Iran at home. They play four away matches against the UAE’s Al-Ain and Al-Wasl, and the two Qatari clubs, Al-Sadd and Al-Rayyan.
The West region pot includes reigning champions Al-Ain of the UAE, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli, Qatar’s Al-Sadd, Al-Gharafa and Al-Rayyan, Iranian clubs Persepolis and Esteghlal, Iraq’s Al-Shorta, Uzbek club Pakhtakor, and Al-Wasl of the UAE.
The East region pot includes Japan’s Vissel Kobe, Kawasaki Frontale and Yokohama F. Marinos, Korea’s Ulsan HD FC, FC Pohang Steelers and Gwangju FC, and Shanghai Port FC and Shanghai Shenhua FC of China, Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim FC, Australia’s Central Coast Mariners, Buriram United from Thailand, and the winner of preliminary stage tie between Chinese club Shandong Taishan FC and Bangkok United of Thailand.
Also on Friday, the draw for the AFC Champions League Two 2024-25 put Saudi Arabia’s Al-Taawoun FC in Group B with Iraq’s Air Force Club, Al-Khaldiya SC of Bahrain and Turkmenistan’s Altyn Asyr.
Four groups in the East and West respectively will contain the 32 teams competing for the ultimate prize of being the inaugural winners of this new competition.
The new season features three club championships for the Yellow Continent: the AFC Champions League Elite; the AFC Champions League Two; and the AFC Challenge Cup.
AFC Champions League Elite draw puts top Saudi clubs with competitive fixtures
https://arab.news/28drr
AFC Champions League Elite draw puts top Saudi clubs with competitive fixtures
- RSL clubs Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli will each play four home and four away
- AFC Champions League Two draw puts Al-Taawoun in Group B with Iraq’s Air Force Club, Al-Khaldiya SC of Bahrain and Turkmenistan’s Altyn Asyr
Australia crush England by 8 wickets for 2-0 Ashes lead
- Australia are now overwhelming favorites to retain the Ashes with matches in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to follow
BRISBANE: Australia cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket win over England in the day-night second Ashes Test in Brisbane on Sunday for an ominous 2-0 lead in the series.
Set a paltry target of 65 for victory, Australia captain Steve Smith pulled Gus Atkinson for a huge six over square leg to get the job done in style.
Although not as humiliating as the two-day loss in the first Test at Perth, England were comprehensively outplayed in every department.
Australia are now overwhelming favorites to retain the Ashes with matches in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to follow.
“Great day. First two days were pretty even, game turned when we were able to extend to get the new ball under lights, that was crucial for us,” said Smith, who clashed verbally with England bowler Jofra Archer as the hosts raced to victory.
“It can be tricky with the pink ball, it changes really quickly and you have to adapt.”
For England it was more misery. Their batting, apart from Joe Root and Zak Crawley in the first innings and captain Ben Stokes and Will Jacks in the second, was just as rash as in Perth.
They gave their wickets away with poor strokes on the bouncy Gabba surface.
They also bowled poorly, pitching too short and wasting the new pink ball, in stark contrast to an Australian attack missing spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
To make matters worse England dropped five catches in the first innings, whereas Australia’s fielders caught everything that came their way.
Josh Inglis’s brilliant run-out of Stokes in the first innings changed the course of the match. “Obviously very disappointing,” said Stokes.
“I think a lot of it comes down to not being able to stand up to the pressure of this game, this format, when the game is on the line.”
England were behind the game once they let Australia’s tail help the home side post 511 on Saturday, an overall lead of 177.
They then lost six second-innings wickets under lights to end the third day 134-6, still 43 runs behind the Australian total.
While many expected England to surrender meekly on Sunday, Stokes and all-rounder Jacks led a fighting rearguard action to ensure Australia had to bat a second time.
Stokes and Jacks defied the Australian pace attack on a fiercely hot day to edge their way past the initial deficit target and begin to set Australia something to chase.
England batting coach Marcus Trescothick said Saturday his batsmen would not change their aggressive approach, despite a clatter of wickets from poor shots.
But Stokes and Jacks were patient during the first session Sunday. They left balls they didn’t need to play and seemed happy to take their runs in singles rather than expansive boundary shots.
They scored just 28 runs in the first hour and passed the 43-run deficit 96 minutes into the session, scoring only 59 runs in the two hours.
The Australian bowlers, who ran rampant under lights on Saturday with the pink ball, were far more ineffective on Sunday, despite the wicket beginning to play some tricks.
The English offered only one chance when Scott Boland squared up Stokes, who got a thick edge over the slips cordon.
They continued to frustrate the Australians in the second session until just before the drinks break Jacks got an edge to Michael Neser and Smith snared a breath-taking catch at slip, diving full length to his left and catching it low to the ground.
Neser struck again in the next over when Stokes nibbled at a ball outside the off-stump and got a fine edge to keeper Alex Carey to leave England 227-8, a lead of exactly 50.
