RIYADH: A last-minute penalty gave Al-Sadd a 2-1 win over Al-Nassr to end the unbeaten record of the Saudi Arabian club in the AFC Champions League Elite.
The one positive, on a night when the Yellows did not impress against the Qataris, is that they had already secured a place in the round of 16 and are still in third.
In the absence of the rested Cristiano Ronaldo, who was watching from the sidelines, Talisca did his best to step up early on. The Brazilian fired an early shot wide and came closer after 17 minutes when he hit a post. He should have scored from close range as he was found by a smart Sadio Mane pass but while Meshaal Barsham was beaten, Talisca’s shot came back off the woodwork.
That near miss came just after Al-Sadd should have taken the lead. Marcelo Brozovic played a blind pass across the face of the penalty area and right into the path of Cristo Gonzalez. The Spaniard was completely unmarked on the edge of the area but his low shot was saved by Bento.
Mane should have broken the deadlock in the 24th minute. The former Liverpool and Bayern Munich forward got on the end of a Sultan Al-Ghannam cross that was swinging into the area from the right, but his diving header at the far post went just wide. So too did a low Angelo shot from outside the box that had Barsham scrambling to get down.
Eight minutes after the restart, Al-Sadd took the lead. Akram Afif ran onto a through pass from Gonzalez, outpaced Mohammed Al-Fatil and then, from just inside the area, calmly rolled the ball past the diving Bento and into the far corner.
Al-Nassr came back at the hosts with Aymeric Laporte and Wesley having attempts on goal, and with 19 minutes remaining Mane went even closer by hitting the post.
Then, with 10 minutes left, Al-Nassr got back on level terms. It may have been an own goal but much of the credit must go to Wesley who got to the left byline to fire over a low cross that was turned in from close range by Romain Saiss.
But Al-Sadd then won it. Adam Ounas stroked home from the penalty spot in the 99th minute after Al-Fatil had brought down Afif. It sent the Qatari club into the round of 16.
Earlier in the day, two penalties from Ivan Toney gave group leaders Al-Ahli a 2-2 draw at home to Esteghlal as Pitso Mosimane returned to Jeddah after being dismissed in 2023, and became the first coach to take some reward from his former club in the tournament.
Twice Al-Ahli had to come back from behind. The Iranians took the lead three minutes before the break, Raphael Silva volleying home past Edouard Mendy after a free-kick was floated into the area by Jaloliddin Masharipov.
At the end of the half Riyad Mahrez hit the bar, but there was still time before the interval for Al-Ahli to draw level. Didier Ndong brought down Fahad Al-Rashidi and Toney stepped up to make no mistake.
Mohammad Hossein Eslami put the Tehran giants back in front seven minutes into the second half with a spectacular volley from the edge of the area.
But Esteghlal’s hopes for a famous win were dealt a blow nine minutes from time when Eslami received a red card.
Toney scored from the spot again with four minutes remaining, his fourth in the space of a week, and Al-Ahli thought they had won it in added time when Firas Al-Buraikan netted but it was ruled out by VAR. The Greens, though, stay top of the group.
