Al Rayyan survived a spirited second-half fightback from Al Faisaly to secure a thrilling 4-3 win in their Asian Champions League Two Group C opener at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan.
The Qatari side looked in control after taking a 3-1 lead at the interval before Mohammad Haddad and Ahmad Ersan struck late to set up a tense finish.
The match got off to a cagey start, with neither side able to establish an early rhythm before Al Faisaly’s Ahmad Ersan saw his effort from inside the box sail over the bar from a corner in the fourth minute.
Al Rayyan’s free-flowing play almost produced the opener in the sixth minute, with Roger Guedes seeing his effort from outside the box blocked after being teed up by Otavio.
The Qatari side, however, did not have to wait long, striking from the resulting corner when David García towered above the Al Faisaly defenders to steer Otavio’s delivery into the bottom left corner.
Al Rayyan doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute when Drissa Diakite’s clever flick released Roger Guedes through the middle, with the Brazilian racing into the box before reacting quickest to tuck away the rebound after his initial effort had struck the left post.
Guedes continued to torment the Al Faisaly defence, testing Al Abdallah Al Fakhorii with a long-range effort in the 27th minute, but the Al Faisaly goalkeeper could not prevent Al Rayyan from scoring in the 41st minute.
Otavio delivered a perfect cross for Ahmed Alaa, who powered a diving header into the bottom corner beyond a rooted Al Fakhori to leave the Jordanian side with a mountain to climb.
Al Faisaly, however, reduced the deficit in first half stoppage time when Saidou Simpore converted from close range after being picked out by Ahmad Ersan.
Al Rayyan continued to dictate proceedings after the restart and restored their three-goal cushion in the 73rd minute with Hazem Shehata finishing from the centre of the box following Ahmed Al Ganehi’s cutback.
The Jordanian side, however, refused to throw in the towel, with Haddad reacting quickest to fire the rebound into the top corner from a tight angle after Ersan’s initial effort crashed against the left post.
Al Faisaly then set up a nail-biting finish in the 84th minute, with Ersan curling a superb right-footed free-kick into the top corner to reduce the deficit by one but Al Rayyan held firm to secure all three points.
