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The Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) has returned to Rabat, upholding the cultural and diplomatic bond forged between Qatar and Morocco during the successful 2024 Year of Culture (YoC) initiative. In a statement, Qatar’s ambassador to Morocco HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Thamer al-Thani said: “The Years of Culture initiative was never about a single moment, but about creating exchanges that continue to live on.” “Seeing that spirit carried forward through the Longines Global Champions Tour reminds us how sport can keep cultural connections alive long after the official celebrations end,” he said. Jan Tops, founder and president of the Longines Global Champions Tour, said: “What began as a collaboration under the Qatar-Morocco Year of Culture has grown into an enduring connection, reminding us that horses have long been a bridge between people, traditions, and continents.” This year’s event marked the 15th leg of the 2025 Tour, held just before the Riyadh finale. The world’s top 30 riders competed in one of the most striking venues on the circuit, framed by the Hassan Tower, the Rabat Grand Theatre, and the Mohammed VI Tower, landmarks that embody the city’s harmony between tradition and modernity.

Qatar football giants Al Sadd will be eyeing a win against Saudi side Al Hilal on Tuesday when the two powerful sides meet in an AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 clash.Al Hilal will expect to stay on the winning ways when they face the Qatari side on Tuesday.Al Hilal, the four-time Asian champions, are the only side in the West Zone with a perfect record while Al Sadd opened their campaign with two draws.Al Hilal will take to the pitch with confidence as they are unbeaten in each of their last 13 home games in the AFC Champions League Elite - with the last 11 being wins.Victory Tuesday will mean the outright longest winning streak by any side at home in the competition, a record currently shared with Japan’s Yokohama F Marinos.Al Hilal, however, are winless in their last two meetings with Al Sadd but did beat the Qatari champions in the two matches prior to that.Al Sadd’s slow start to the season led to the departure of head coach Felix Sanchez, with the Spaniard’s compatriot Sergio Alegre taking charge on an interim basis. Alegre couldn’t have picked a tougher match to start his tenure but if Al Sadd do register a win, it could well spark a turnaround in their fortunes.Alegre, however, said during a press conference on Monday: “A tough and strong match awaits us against Al Hilal. We have prepared well for this match and I hope we will perform at our best. We fear nothing. We have a distinguished group of players, and our goal is to play a strong match and achieve a positive result.”Two-time AFC Asian Cup winning captain and an Al Sadd stalwart Hassan al-Haydos said on Monday: “We know Al Hilal’s strengths and weaknesses. We must give it our best. We must also give our complete focus during the match. After Qatar qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup (last week), our morale has improved, and I hope it will be reflected in the match against Al Hilal.”Al Hilal’s Italian coach, Simone Inzaghi, Monday emphasised the importance of winning Tuesday’s AFC Champions League match, adding that his team is at the top of their group and the goal is to ‘maintain that position’. Inzaghi on Monday admired the strength of the opposing team, saying: “We followed Al Sadd closely, as they performed admirably in two matches. We must prepare well for the match in order to maintain our top position.”Regarding the pressure of ACL matches, Inzaghi said that their focus is solely on Tuesday’s match, stressing that the team will face numerous matches in the coming period, and that all members of the squad are ‘ready for those matches’.Regarding Salem al-Dawsari’s injury, Inzaghi said al-Dawsari will not participate in the match due to the injury he sustained while playing for the national team.“He is an important player and we hope he returns to action as soon as possible. Everyone is monitoring the progress of his condition,” he said.

Justin Leonard delivered an electrifying finish to open the PGA Tour Champions postseason.The 53-year-old rolled in an eagle on the par-5 18th at The Country Club of Virginia on Sunday, capping a 4-under-par 68 to win the Dominion Energy Charity Classic at 12 under. Leonard edged South Africa's Ernie Els and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark by one stroke, securing his second victory of the season to go with February's Chubb Classic win."I've been on this nice run here the last three or four months and I've had some chances to win and played some pretty good golf," Leonard said after the win. "Maybe not my best golf through it, but today was really special on a really special golf course."Leonard's closing heroics flipped a leaderboard long controlled by Els. The Hall of Famer began the day in front and was still tied for the lead late before a bogey at the par-4 17th dropped him to 11 under. Needing birdie on 18 to force a playoff, Els' putt stayed on the high side of the cup, leaving Leonard's eagle as the tournament winner. Els signed for an even-par 72 and Bjorn matched Leonard's 4-under 68 to share runner-up honors."I feel for Ernie," Leonard said. "Golly, he's played so good. It feels like he could have won 12 tournaments this year. Fortunately, today was just my day."After going bogey-free in each of the first two rounds, Els had three bogeys and three birdies in Sunday's final round. He said that he found the wind difficult, admitting it played a big part in his finish to the round."Yeah, I played good. It was very tough conditions today," Els said. "Got totally screwed on 17 and 18, that was the breaks I got. Hey, listen, we played good and came up short again, so disappointing. Got to keep going."The win vaults Leonard up eight spots to ninth in the Charles Schwab Cup standings as the three-event playoffs move to the Simmons Bank Championship in Little Rock, Ark. Only the top 54 in the standings advanced on Sunday. Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain and Stewart Cink remain in the top two spots in the standings, while Els jumped up a spot to third with his performance.Scott Parel snuck in with a tie for 21st place, bumping David Bransdon out of the postseason. After next week, the field will be trimmed again, down to 36, for the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.

Hosts Al Wahda came back from going a goal behind to remain unbeaten in the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 as Jose Morais’ side notched up a 3-1 win over Qatar’s Al Duhail at Abu Dhabi's Al Nahyan Stadium on Monday.Kryzsztof Piatek had given the visitors a 20th minute lead but an Omar Khribin penalty 15 minutes later levelled the scores before Brahima Diarra put Al Wahda in front two minutes into stoppage time and Ala Zouhir hit a spectacular third in the 67th minute.The result moves Al Wahda onto seven points from their first three games while Al Duhail are still looking for their first win, with Djamel Belmadi’s side on one point.Al Wahda had impressed in the opening exchanges, only for Morais’ side to go behind.Dusan Tadic sliced his close-range effort wide of the Al Duhail goal in the 12th minute after being played in on goal by Zouhir as the home side made a positive start with the former Ajax Amsterdam playmaker to the fore.Zouhir unlocked the visiting defence again three minutes later when he muscled his way past the defence to clip in a cross from the right that the unmarked Caio Canedo slammed over the bar from 15 yards out.It was against the run of play, then, that Al Duhail took the lead as the halfway point in the half approached.Sultan Al Brake’s perfect pass from 35 yards out sliced through the Al Wahda defence to find Adil Boulbina as he scampered towards the byeline, the winger cutting the ball back first time to set up Piatek to push his shot over from inside the six yard box.Jean-Charles Castelletto’s pull on Khribin’s shirt saw referee Gulmurodi Sadullo point to the penalty spot and the Syria international showed no hesitation to slam his spot-kick beyond Arthur Desmas as dived the wrong way.Two minutes into time added on at the end of the half, Al Wahda went in front.Tadic’s clever flick over the defence found Diarra and, while his initial attempt was headed away by defender Youssef Ayman, the midfielder’s persistence ensured he netted at the second attempt from a tight angle after sidestepping Desmas’ dive.Al Wahda sealed the win in spectacular fashion midway through the second half, Tadic seeing his shot from 25 yards take a deflection off Cestelletto and Zouhir reacted, springing into the air to launch an unstoppable overhead strike beyond the helpless goalkeeper.

Al Duhail will face UAE’s Al Wahda at the Al Nahyan Stadium for their AFC Champions League Elite 2025-26 match at the at the Al Nahyan Stadium Monday.Al Wahda will target maximum points when they welcome Al Duhail to the Al Nahyan Stadium for their AFC Champions League Elite tie at the Al Nahyan Stadium Monday.The UAE side sit fourth in the standings with four points, while Qatar’s Al Duhail are three adrift in ninth place.Al Wahda, however, will tread carefully as their head-to-head record isn’t in their favour, having lost both previous encounters against the Qatari side.They will draw confidence from their good start to the season – domestically as well as on the continental stage – in their bid to walk away with the points.Leading their charge will be Omar Khribin, who led Syria to AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 qualification this past week.Al Duhail, who held defending champions Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli to a 2-2 draw three weeks ago, need to get on the winning trail if knockout stage qualification is to be achieved.“We are ready to play the match, and we look forward to achieving our first victory in the continental competition,” Al Duhail coach Djamel Belmadi said.“Although we have only earned one point from two matches, I do not consider them negative results, especially since we played against Al Hilal and Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia, and I believe that the confrontation with Al Wahda will also be strong, during which we will try to play with extreme focus.”That will require defensive resolve, with four goals having already been conceded but they are struggling for form – sitting sixth in the Qatar Stars League.They did come within a whisker of defeating Al Ahli and if they can reproduce that form, they may well extend their winning streak against Al Wahda.Al Gharafa vs Al Ahli Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia will be aiming to return to winning ways when they entertain Al Gharafa in the AFC Champions League Elite at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium Monday.The defending champions were held to a 2-2 draw by Qatar’s Al Duhail SC on Matchday Two, which halted the Saudi Arabian side’s winning run at eight.The draw, however, meant that Al Ahli joined Saudi Pro League rivals Al Hilal SFC and Ulsan HD of South Republic on a 20-match unbeaten run in the continental showpiece and they will be determined to claim the record for themselves Monday.The head-to-head with Al Gharafa is very much in Al Ahli’s favour as they are unbeaten in their last five meetings – winning two and drawing three.They will expect to score, having already netted six goals, but their defence has been porous with four conceded in their earlier two matches and Al Ahli will be focused on staying tight at the back.Al Gharafa will not be fazed by the prospect of playing Al Ahli away, especially after defeating Iraq’s Al Shorta 2-0 on Matchday Two.Al Gharafa’s coach Pedro Martins while addressing the media on eve of the match, said, “A tough match awaits us against the title holder, and we will play in our style with the aim of achieving victory.”Joselu will be counted on to deliver the goals, with the Spanish forward leading the continental charts with three and if he scores Monday, he will become the first Al Gharafa player to score in three consecutive games to start a season since at least 2013.The Qatari side, however, have lost their last three away games on the continent.

All eyes in Perth are on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as the two India stalwarts prepare for the opening one-day international against Australia Sunday, marking the first national team outing for the pair since winning the Champions Trophy in March.India’s new ODI skipper, Shubman Gill, told journalists Saturday that he had had numerous conversations with his predecessors who had retired from the shortest and longest forms of the game, about how to take the team forward.“Definitely very exciting – big shoes for me to fill carrying over the legacy (Virat and Rohit) left for us,” the 26-year-old said.“These are the kind of players when I was a kid, I used to idolise them. The kind of game that they used to play, the kind of hunger that they had is something that inspired me. It’s a big honour to lead such legends of the game and learn from them.”Gill has already captained at T20I and Test level, but the upcoming three-match series will be the first time he has led in ODIs, where he averages nearly 60 with the bat.“I think in front of a difficult situation, I wouldn’t shy away from getting any suggestions or advice from them,” he said.“How they converse and what kind of communication or messaging they had with the players is something that helped me get the best out of myself. That’s the kind of captain I would want to be, where all my players feel very secure in the job they have to do.”Australia captain Mitch Marsh acknowledged that India’s two returning batsmen are partly responsible for an expected bumper crowd at the 60,000-seat Perth Stadium, which is nearing a sell-out despite a forecast of rain.“A lot of people are going to come and watch them. If it is their last time on Australian soil, I hope they enjoy it,” the 33-year-old said, before cheekily adding that he would prefer “not too much good cricket from them”.The Perth local, who struck two hundreds and averaged 70 across white-ball formats against South Africa and New Zealand in recent months, dead-batted any suggestion that continued goodform might prompt a Test recall ahead of the Ashes series this summer.“I’ve got tickets for day one and two, I haven’t asked the wife yet, but that’s about as much thought as I’ve given it.”

Doha Falcons claimed the runners-up place in the Global Champions League (GCL) of Rome as the Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames delivered the only four flawless rounds to claim victory and draw level on points with championship leaders Valkenswaard United.With just two stages left in the 2025 season, both Cannes Stars and Valkenswaard on 277 points, but the latter retain lead given their more number of wins this year.At the Circus Maximus arena, it was the Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames duo of Sophie Hinners with Iron Dames Combella and Katrin Eckermann aboard Chao Lee & Iron Dames Dialou Blue PS who were simply untouchable across both rounds. The pair produced immaculate clear rounds, combining precision and power to secure a commanding win on 0 faults and an overall time of 151.17 seconds.Eckermann praised the team’s cohesion: “It’s always special to win with this team - we trust each other completely, and the horses were in fantastic form today. Rome is one of the most beautiful shows on the circuit, and this win means everything for our championship fight.”It was a high-intensity showdown from start to finish. Doha Falcons played a great strategy not making a horse or rider change between rounds and impressed with consistency from Sheikh Ali Al Khalid al-Thani and Com’on Stanley alongside Bassem Mohammed with Rocket Man, securing second place on a total of 4 faults after two gritty rounds.Sheikh Ali said, “I am really happy with my team and my horse who jumped amazing today. This results is really amazing and to help the team rise a bit in the rankings so we are so happy.”Teammate Bassem explained: “We always try to stick to our plan and jump clear rounds in these team competitions. I am really happy to have my old team member back in the game and I couldn’t be more happy to have this result today standing beside him.”The Paris Panthers completed the podium with a combined total of 6 faults, led by Guido Grimaldi aboard Gentleman and Clara Pezzoli with Fantasia de Beaufour & Hadewyn van't Ravennest to secure their first-ever podium of the season.

Al Rayyan made a perfect start to their Gulf Club Champions League campaign with a resounding 5-0 victory over Yemen’s Tadamon Hadramaut in their opening match at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium Wednesday.Brazilian forward Roger Guedes set the tone with a brace in the first half, scoring in the 17th and 28th minutes. The third goal came early in the second half when Yemeni defender Ayoub Tlili turned a cross into his own net (49th minute). Rodrigo Moreno (68th minute) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (90+6th minute) added further strikes to complete the rout.The home side dominated from the outset, pressing high and creating chances with sustained attacking pressure. Guedes broke the deadlock after a corner slipped past the defence, before doubling his tally with a thunderous strike from outside the box.After the restart, Tlili’s own goal widened the gap, and Moreno converted from a Mitrovic cross to make it four. Mitrovic then capped the night in stoppage time with a powerful header off a Wesley delivery.The emphatic win secured Al Rayyan’s first three points and a direct passage to the semi-finals of the competition. Al Rayyan midfielder Jassim Jaber hailed the team’s performance, calling the victory an “important motivation” for the squad moving forward.“We performed well and pressed from the start with the goal of winning, and that’s what we achieved,” Jaber said. “I thank the players for their great effort. The team has proven it has strong starters and substitutes who can maintain a high level.”

Qatar's Al Ahli and Uzbekistan's Andijon shared the points after playing out a goalless draw in their AFC Champions League Two Group B tie Wednesday in Andijan, Uzbekistan.The stalemate meant both sides are still seeking their first win, with their respective opening encounters also ending in draws. The first chance fell to Andijon when Mukhammadkarim Toirov let fly on the bounce from 25 yards out in the 11th minute but his effort was straight at Al Ahli goalkeeper Marwan Sherif.The game then became cagey and only really came to life in the final minutes of the half when Al Ahli’s Suhaib Gannan picked out Sekou Yansane in the box but the forward hit his effort into the ground, allowing Erzhan Tokotaev to gather easily. A mistake from Driss Fettouhi – who underhit his pass – nearly cost the Qatari side in the 43rd minute when Usmonali Ismonaliev intercepted and fed Doniyor Abdummanopov, who forced a diving save from Sherif.Andijon looked the more likely to break the deadlock after the interval with Krystian Nowak’s header from Damir Temirov’s corner delivery sailing just over a minute into the restart. Seeing his side under pressure, Al Ahli head coach Igor Biscan called upon the experienced Julian Draxler to replace Yansane in the 64th minute and the former German international nearly created the opening goal eight minutes later when he spotted Hilal Mohammed’s run, only for the full-back to scoop his effort over the bar.Al Ahli’s improvement saw them forcing Tokotaev to make a point-blank save from Gannan’s header in the 78th minute but the remainder of the game yielded no goals as the sides shared the spoils.Ahli coach Igor Biscan expressed satisfaction with the away result despite his side’s missed chances. “We played well and created several opportunities, but we were unlucky and faced difficulties breaking down their defensive organisation,” Biscan said at the post-match press conference.He pointed to the poor pitch conditions as a factor affecting his players’ attacking play but remained upbeat about their prospects. “Overall, I am satisfied with the draw away from home. We will work hard to achieve victory in the next round when we host Andijon in Doha,” he said.The Croatian praised his players’ commitment, saying they deserved more than a draw based on their performance. He also revealed that Draxler was introduced only in the second half due to fitness concerns. “He had some pain after the league match against Al Shahaniya, so I didn’t want to risk him from the start. His quality and influence were clear when he came on, and he remains a very important player for us,” Biscan added.Al Ahli will now look to secure their first group-stage victory when they meet Andijon again in the return fixture in Doha.

Kylian Mbappe struck a hat-trick as record 15-time Champions League winners Real Madrid romped to a 5-0 league phase win over Kairat in Kazakhstan Tuesday.Xabi Alonso’s side bounced back from their thrashing by city rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday with an emphatic victory on the road, after travelling more than 7,000 kilometres. Mbappe put the hosts to the sword with his treble and Eduardo Camavinga and Brahim Diaz wrapped up Madrid’s victory, which took them provisionally top of the table.Kairat, appearing in the tournament proper for the first time, beat Celtic in qualifying but could not handle Los Blancos, even after their long journey east, in particular French superstar Mbappe.“We can’t forget what happened this weekend (against Atletico) but we have to keep thinking about it, and working to be better each day and each week so we don’t have another night like that,” Mbappe said.The forward boasts 13 goals already this season in nine games across all competitions, but looked frustrated with himself when he missed a good chance in the second half.“My work is helping the team, doing what I can so that the team wins,” continued Mbappe. “If I have five chances, and I want to score five goals then I have to score five goals, that’s why Real Madrid bought me. I’ll work to be better and try to score more goals and be more efficient in front of goal.”Hosts Kairat lined up with 18-year-old Sherkhan Kalmurza in goal because of injuries to three other goalkeepers at the club. Kalmurza was to blame for Madrid’s opener, as he clumsily felled Franco Mastantuono.Mbappe, who had a shot saved earlier by the youngster, sent Kalmurza the wrong way from the spot in the 25th minute.The Frenchman was Madrid’s main threat, as has been the case all season, and whistled a shot narrowly wide of the far post before the break. Seven minutes into the second period Mbappe grabbed his second, after a long kick by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois sent him through on goal.Mbappe gently dinked the ball over Kalmurza to net his fourth in the competition after a brace against Marseille in Madrid’s opener. “It was an enormous pass worth 80 percent of the goal, and I added the other 20 percent,” said Mbappe. The striker should have had his hat-trick after exchanging passes with Vinicius Junior but fired wide with just the goalkeeper to beat. At the other end, promising 17-year-old forward Dastan Satpayev, who will join Chelsea next summer, whipped a free-kick narrowly wide.Kairat thought they had won a penalty when Dani Ceballos was penalised for tripping Valery Gromyko, but it was cancelled after a VAR review. Mbappe then completed his treble after Arda Guler flicked the ball into his path on the edge of the box and he produced a razor-sharp finish. Camavinga, on as a substitute, nodded home after 83 minutes and Diaz rounded off Madrid’s rout in stoppage time.Atalanta come from behind to beat Club BruggeIn Bergamo, Italy, Atalanta came from behind to beat Belgium’s Club Brugge 2-1 at home with Mario Pasalic netting the winner after earning the penalty that led to the equaliser. The Croatia international, in his eighth season at the Serie A club, headed home in the 87th minute from a corner to win the game for the hosts, who were trailing with 16 minutes remaining.Christos Tzolis’ first-half strike gave the visitors the lead, but a penalty tucked away by Lazar Samardzic in the 74th minute brought Atalanta back into the game.The win gave the Italian outfit their first points of the campaign after they lost 4-0 to holders Paris St Germain in their opening league-stage fixture in mid-September, while Brugge already had three points after beating Monaco 4-1 at home.Brugge were first on the score sheet when an error from Marten de Roon allowed Carlos Forbs to tee up Tzolis, who jinked left and then right before firing home a curling effort in the 38th minute.Atalanta won a penalty when goalkeeper Nordin Jackers rushed out to try and tap the ball away from the feet of Pasalic but made contact with the midfielder and gave away the spotkick, which substitute Samardzic converted.Brugge might have snatched the lead back a minute later, but Romeo Vermant’s effort went narrowly wide with the goalkeeper out of position before home pressure told and Pasalic got in at the back post to head home the winner.

Sharjah FC came from behind to force an entertaining 1-1 draw with Al Sadd in their AFC Champions League Elite 2025-26 tie at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium Tuesday.The hosts’ Akram Afif’s cracker of a shot in the 18th minute was cancelled out by the UAE side’s Caio Fernandes in the 73rd minute to give the teams a share of the points.Sharjah were the early aggressors, with Rei Manaj and Caio Fernandes both sending their attempts over the bar within the first six minutes while Manaj blasted his free-kick straight into the defensive wall in the eighth minute.Afif, however, flipped the script in the 18th minute when he came down the right, cut in and rifled an unstoppable shot from 20 yards past Darwish Habib’s right hand.The thrills continued two minutes later when the UAE side were awarded a penalty after Boualem Khoukhi handled the ball, but keeper Meshaal Barsham judged correctly, diving to his right and palming out Caio’s attempt.The game slowed down after the initial rush, with the next noteworthy moment coming in the 40th minute when Manaj picked up a pass from Khaled Ebraheim, pivoted in the box and let loose a shot that rattled the left post. Barsham pulled off a fine save from Manaj in the 61st minute after the striker controlled the ball and side-footed from close range while his counterpart Darwish pulled off an equally important save four minutes later from Rafael Mujica inside the area.Sharjah’s determination was finally rewarded when Caio made amends for his penalty miss, picking up a lovely chip from Adel Taarabt in the 73rd minute and blasting home from just outside the six-yard box. Barsham prevented Sharjah from increasing the scoreline 10 minutes later when he went into a full-length dive to prevent Ousmane Camara’s low shot from going into the bottom left corner.Al Sadd coach Felix Sanchez sounded disappointed after his side were held to a draw by Sharjah, with the Spaniard saying his team had “lost two points” at home.“We took the lead in the first half,” Sanchez said at the post-match press conference. “We wanted to continue the same performance in the second half and play attacking football, but the team retreated and we conceded a goal unexpectedly. The match was evenly balanced, and we were unable to control it.”Sanchez said that a draw was not the target, especially on home soil.“Yes, we definitely lost two points. We should have won, and our goal was to win the match. We got a point, but it wasn’t enough,” he said. Sanchez acknowledged the need for improvement while pointing to the absence of key players.“I made several changes during the match, some of which were necessary, as we wanted to increase the pressure on the opposing team. We didn’t achieve the desired result, and I don’t want to find excuses, but we are waiting for the return of Claudinho and other injured players. We have a good team, and we must develop ourselves in the coming period,” the former Qatar coach said.The result leaves 2011 champions Al Sadd still looking for their first win after their 1-1 opening stalemate with Iraq’s Al Shorta while Sharjah have amassed four points after their 4-3 win against Qatar’s Al Gharafa SC on Matchday One. Sharjah will meet Islamic Republic of Iran’s Tractor FC on Oct 20 while Al Sadd face Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal SFC the next day.-www.the-afc.com

Al Gharafa of Qatar turned on the power in the second half to defeat Iraq’s Al Shorta 2-0 in their AFC Champions League Elite tie Monday.Strikes from Joselu and Ferjani Sassi earned Pedro Martins’ side the points as Al Gharafa got on the winning trail after having suffered a 4-3 defeat against UAE’s Sharjah FC in their opener.Al Shorta, meanwhile, are still seeking their first win after having played to a 1-1 draw with Qatar’s Al Sadd two weeks ago. The home side were almost caught napping by a counter-attacking move in the fifth minute when Ahmed Yahia powered down the left and relayed the ball to Mahmoud al-Mawas, whose shot rattled the left post from inside the six-yard-box.Al Gharafa came close to taking the lead in the 13th minute when Joselu pounced on a poor back pass from Mehdi Ashabi, only to see his effort from an acute angle strike the right post. The Iraqi outfit had a great chance just moments later after Mahmoud al-Mawas lost his marker down the right and set up Leonel Ateba who fumbled his shot from close range.The duo almost conjured the opener just after the half-hour mark when al-Mawas timed his run to perfection to slip the ball to Ateba, whose effort from inside the box was foiled by Al Gharafa keeper Amine Lecomte-Addani. At the other end, Al Shorta wasted their best chance of the half from a fast break which saw Fabricio Díaz play the ball across to Ahmed al-Ganehi, who skied his effort.The deadlock was broken three minutes into the second half when al-Ganehi intercepted a poor pass, leaving Yacine Brahimi to tee up Joselu to slot home from close range.Gharafa extended their lead in the 54th minute after Brahimi’s precise cross into the box was headed by Sassi past outstretched keeper Ahmed Basil.The home side were denied a third goal in the 66th minute when al-Ganehi’s effort struck the bar from inside the box, while Al Shorta came close on a breakaway with Al Mawas teeing up Dominique Mendy, whose shot was blocked.Al Gharafa next meet defending champions Al Ahli Saudi in an away game on October 20, with Al Shorta to host Al Ittihad Club on the same day.Duhail hold defending champions AhliAl Duhail and Al Ahli Saudi FC both had the lead but eventually had to settle for a 2-2 draw in their AFC Champions League Elite match.While the stalemate meant Al Ahli equalled the tournament’s unbeaten run record of 20 matches, it ended their eight-game winning run as Duhail earned a well deserved point. The reigning champions didn’t have to wait long to register their first attempt on target, Matheus Goncalves with a delicate chip into the box in the eighth minute which Roger Ibanez got his head to, forcing Al Duhail goalkeeper Arthus Desmas to backtrack to tip the ball over.Al Ahli, however, then found themselves trailing for the second game running as Matthias Jaissle’s side switched off the 25th minute, allowing a goal kick to be flicked on by Krzysztof Piatek to Adil Boubina, who hit the post but Edmilson Junior was on hand to tap home the rebound. Al Duhail suffered a blow seven minutes later when Desmas - who was making his debut for the Qatari side - suffered a head injury after a heavy collision with Feras Albrikan, with Bautista Burke replacing him.Burke, however, didn’t have time to settle in as Al Ahli drew level on 42 minutes when Goncalves cut inside Youssef Ayman before firing a low shot to the near post which the 22-year-old got a hand to but was not enough to keep the ball out.Things went from bad to worse for Burke four minutes later when his attempted pass out from the box went straight to Riyad Mahrez, who had the simple task of rolling the ball into an unguarded goalmouth. Djamel Belmadi took a gamble at the start of the second half, replacing midfielder Luis Alberto with forward Almoez Ali, who partnered Piatek and the Al Duhail head coach was rewarded just two minutes in.Edmilson got away from Goncalves on the right flank before delivering a telling cross that was thumped into the top corner by Piatek. Piatek should have gotten his second 10 minutes later from another Edmilson cross but despite being unmarked, could not get his volley on target while Ivan Toney had a late attempt saved by Burke as the sides settled for a share of the points.