Gharafa exit after loss to Ahli, Sadd go down to Pakhtakor

Al Ahli Saudi FC came from behind to end Al Gharafa’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League Elite following their 4-2 victory at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium on Monday. The Saudi Pro League side took provisional pole position with 22 points, three ahead of Al Hilal SFC who will face UAE’s Al Wasl today. Qatar’s Al Gharafa, meanwhile, exited the tournament after their haul of seven points wasn’t enough for a top eight finish.
Al Ahli started on the backfoot with Aron Gunnarsson forcing a fine save from keeper Edouard Mendy in the second minute, before Yacine Brahimi’s shot sailed agonisingly close over the bar.
The Riyadh-based side were penalised four minutes later following Matteo Dams’ hand ball inside the area with Joselu thumping in the ensuing spot-kick to give Al Gharafa the lead.
Al Gharafa, who needed victory to secure their place in the Round of 16, then threatened with Rodrigo sending his shot from distance wide in the 13th minute before Brahimi drilled his free-kick right into the clutches of Mendy.
Al Ahli gradually took control with Ivan Toney leading their charge. The English forward went close with an attempt from point blank range which Sergio Rico saved but the Al Gharafa keeper failed to stop the former Brentford forward’s second attempt in the 21st minute.
A deft long pass from Dams to Ibanez created the opening for Al Ahli’s second goal with the Brazilian squaring the ball nicely for Roberto Firmino to thump the ball into the back of the net at the far post. Al Gharafa fell further behind after a quickly taken free-kick from Mahrez set Galeno free on the left with the Brazilian winger striking an angled shot in the direction of Rico, who fumbled with his save. Any hope of an Al Gharafa comeback was extinguished in the second half after the Qatari side conceded a penalty following Jamal Hamed’s foul on Toney, with Mahrez sending Rico the wrong way to claim his second goal of the evening just before the hour mark.
Brahimi scored from the spot in the 80th minute after Ibanez brought down the Algerian but it was a mere consolation as Al Gharafa’s campaign came to an end.
Earlier, Pakhtakor kept their hopes of advancing to the knockout rounds alive with a 2-1 win over already-qualified Al Sadd in Tashkent as the side from Uzbekistan moved into the top eight with their first victory of the campaign. Brayan Riascos scored in the 18th and 56th minutes for the hosts either side of a Hassan al-Haydos 37th minute penalty as Pakhtakor doubled their goal tally for the league phase in a game that saw Al Sadd’s Adam Ounas and Sardor Sobrikhojaev for the home side sent off.
Pakhtakor’s knockout stage ticket was confirmed after Al Ahli Saudi FC defeated Al Gharafa 2 while Persepolis FC had to settle for a goalless draw with Al Nassr Club. Monday’s results mean that Qatar’s Al Rayyan SC are also through with only one spot now remaining to be filled.
The home side tested the Al Sadd defence with Flamarion seeing his header touched wide by Youcef Atal but, soon after, the opener came. Khodjiakbar Alijonov’s searching cross from the right found Flamarion at the far post and the Brazilian’s header back across the face of goal was steered home from close range by Riascos.
It was against the run of play that Al Sadd were given the opportunity to level from the spot when, following a VAR review, al-Haydos was awarded a penalty as Alijonov was judged to have brought down the ex-Qatar international, who stepped up to score.
Despite that setback, Pakhtakor started the second half brightly and, 12 minutes after the resumption, the hosts went ahead again.
Jonatan Lucca’s free kick on the edge of the area was blocked by the Al Sadd defensive wall but, after the ball looped high into the sky, Riascos rose to head past Al Sheeb.
Both teams were reduced to 10 men following an off-the-ball altercation between Ounas and Sobrikhojaev that saw the pair expelled with little over a quarter of the game remaining.