One down, two to go, or rather, one through to the Asian Champions League quarter-finals for Saudi Arabia, with the potential for more to come.
Al-Shabab defeated FC Nasaf 2-0 in the second round in Qatar on Sunday and it remains to be seen whether they will finish in the last eight among Saudi Arabian sides Al-Hilal and Al-Faisaly who are in action come on Mondays.
If these two can follow Sunday’s winners into the last eight they will be delighted, and even more so if they progress as smoothly as Al-Shabab did against the Uzbekistan team. While that meeting in the West Asian zone of the continental tournament – which is divided into two geographical halves until the final – was competitive, it always looked like Al-Shabab, having taken an early lead, would emerge victorious .
Looking like serious contenders from the start, Vicente Moreno’s men won their group in style, scoring 18 goals and conceding one, and appear to have improved since the end of the group stage last year.
The opening goal came after just 12 minutes. Ever Banega shoved the ball to Hussain Al-Qahtani who galloped forward and it seemed everyone expected the midfielder to put the ball down. But with the space offered by the retreating defenders, he pressed on and decided to take a shot. While Abduvakhid Nematov seemed to be marking the ball, the goalkeeper took a slight deflection and the men in white took the lead.
Coming into the tournament after back-to-back wins in the Roshn Saudi League, where they share the top spot with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, Al-Shabab was left with Nasaf, who had never before played in the knockout stages of the Champions League had occurred back. with a mountain to climb. However, the early breakthrough gave the Uzbek team a little edge and they were almost level eight minutes before the break when Riad Sharahili gave the ball on the edge of the area, but a shot from Oybek Bozorov cleared the bar.
Nine minutes after the restart, the roles had been reversed from the first goal as the Riyadh club controlled the tie in style. Al-Qahtani laid the ball down for Banega and just outside the right side of the box, the Argentine put it off with a shot that bounced off the inside foot of the right post and then found the net.
The Central Asians did their best to get back into the game. With 15 minutes to go, Javokhir Sidikov danced into the box and looked ready to pull the trigger, but good defensive work from Nader Al-Sharari erased the threat.
The tie ended in familiar fashion as Banega charged at goal. This time, however, his shot was saved by Nematov and that was it. Al-Shabab put on a solid performance and left feeling that there is a higher gear they can reach if needed. Sooner or later it will be like that.
Earlier in the day, Al-Duhail triumphed over Qatar and defeated Al-Rayyan 7-6 on penalties after 120 minutes 1-1.
On Monday, Al-Hilal meets Shabab Al-Ahli of the United Arab Emirates, while Al-Faisaly takes on Iran’s Foolad.
The quarter-finals will take place on Thursday, the semi-finals next Sunday. The team, emerging from the West Asian Zone, will face Japan’s Urawa Reds in a two-legged final in April.
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