(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
The Peninsula
Doha, Qatar: Qatar's Al Sadd shared points with UAE's Al Ain following a 1-1 draw in their opening AFC Champions League Elite match at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain yesterday.
Playmaker Akram Affif handed the Wolves lead in the closing stages of the first half, before Matias Palacios equalised for the reigning champions in the 80th minute.
Both sides wasted early chances with Afif pulling his shot wide in the third minute, while Al Ain's Soufiane Rahimi miscued a volley two minutes later.
Al Ain threatened again in the 11th minute when Rahimi beat the offside trap, only for his shot to bounce off the left post before he was denied again by Al Sadd keeper Meshaal Barsham in the 21st minute.
Al Sadd came close to breaking the deadlock in the 20th minute, Afif timing his dummy run before setting up Mohamed Camara for a powerful strike that forced a save from Khalid Eisa.
Barsham kept Al Sadd in the game with a string of fine saves, including parrying away a dangerous effort from Matias Palacios in the 29th minute.
The breakthrough finally came a minute into added time, when Afif weaved his way through the Al Ain defence.
His initial effort was blocked by Fabio Cardoso, but the rebound fell kindly for the Al Sadd captain, who calmly slotted the ball into an empty net.
Al Sadd started the second half on the front foot with Paulo Otavio setting up Rafael Mujica, who pulled his effort just wide, while Al Ain played in patches, with Fabio Cardoso, Kodjo Laba Kaku Romero all missing their chances.
Esteghlal players celebrate after scoring a goal against Al Gharafa.
The Qatar champions came close to doubling their advantage in the 64th minute after Otavio opened up play on the left before teeing up Mujica, whose effort bounced off the bar.
With 10 minutes remaining, Al Ain equalised through Palacios, whose initial effort was blocked before the Argentine midfielder struck a long range shot which took a deflection before settling into the back of the net.
“We faced a very tough match against Al Ain and their home crowd. We had the upper hand in the first half with possession and managed to score the lead goal in the final minutes,” Al Sadd coach Felix Sanchez said after the match.
“We were aiming for the win, but there were some circumstances that prevented that. The team is improving with each game, and the result is good, especially considering we earned a point from the reigning champions. We secured an important point, and I congratulate my players for their performance today. We aim to keep improving in the upcoming matches.”
Also yesterday, Al Gharafa suffered a 0-3 defeat to Iran's Esteghlal in their opening ACL Elite match at Shahr-e Qods Stadium in Qods.
An own goal by Abdalla Yousif in the fourth minute took Esteghlal ahead with Ramin Rezaeian (79th minute) and Arash Rezavand (88th minute) sealing the win for the home side.
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