JEDDAH: Al-Ittihad beat Al-Shorta 4-1 on Monday to claim their first win in the AFC Champions League this season, and also hand new coach Sergio Conceicao a welcome first victory in his second game since taking over from sacked Laurent Blanc on Oct. 7.
The pressure was on the 2004 and 2005 continental champions, who had lost their first two group games, prior to Conceicao’s arrival, and it looked like they were in for another tough night in Baghdad against an Iraqi side who caused problems for their visitors throughout.
In fact, Al-Ittihad found themselves trailing after only five minutes, when Bassam Shakir put the hosts ahead to send the home fans wild. The midfielder reacted quickly at the far post to head home Mehdi Ashabi’s flick-on from a right-sided corner.
The Tigers were back on level terms just 12 minutes later, however, after Mahamadou Doumbia robbed an opponent of possession and chipped a smart cross toward Moussa Diaby, who headed home.
Just before the half-hour mark, the Jeddah giants took the lead in some style when Fabinho stepped up to bend a spectacular free-kick from about 25 meters out into the bottom corner of the net, a goal worthy of any stage.
Shortly before the break, Al-Shorta thought they were level when Dominique Mendy’s fierce drive hit the bar and the ball appeared to bounce down behind the line. The video assistant referee ruled otherwise.
There was better news for the hosts five minutes after the restart, as the visitors were reduced to 10 men when Danilo Pereira received a second yellow card for a foul. With Al-Shorta looking dangerous throughout the match, the game looked like it could go either way.
On the hour mark, however, Houssem Aouar extended Al-Ittihad’s lead, sidefooting from close range into an empty net after a driving run by Diaby.
Aouar scored his second, and his team’s fourth, after 76 minutes to seal the victory. Diaby was the provider once again, pulling the ball back from the left side of the area for the Algerian to slide home.
