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Riyad Mahrez starred for Al Shamal with a sparkling show as the tournament debutants registered a historic 3-1 win against Saudi giants Al Hilal in the AFC Champions League Elite match at Al Bayt Stadium on Tuesday.The victory was the first for the Qatari side after draws in their earlier two matches as they moved up to sixth in the West standings on five points, one behind Al Hilal. Al Hilal, meanwhile, lost in the league stage of the AFC Champions League Elite for the first time since the tournament was revamped.There were uncertainties for Al Hilal at the start of the match as head coach Simone Inzaghi’s decision to keep Kalidou Koulibaly, Ollie Watkins and Yassine Bounou on the bench gave Al Shamal the invitation to go on the attack.It took the home side only eight minutes to slice Al Hilal wide open with incisive passing from their own half that saw Riyad Mahrez relay the ball to Ben Romdhane, who then set up Wesley Said for a low strike that beat Mohammed al-Owais.Al Hilal looked to respond but had to wait till the 31st minute for the equaliser, Kader Meite held off his marker to release the ball to Salem al-Dawsari, who then sent Theo Hernandez surging up the left flank before arriving into the box to tap in the left-back’s return pass.Al Shamal missed a great chance to go back in front shortly after when Baghdad Bounedjah lifted the ball over al-Owais but Ali Lajami got the slightest of touches to disrupt Mahrez’s follow-up header which hit the post.Al Shamal made a blistering start to the second half and restored their lead within three minutes. Tiago Silva flicked a pass to Mahrez on the right and the Algerian wizard picked out Bounedjah at the near post to steer the ball home from close range.It got even better for the home side with Mahrez, a two-time AFC Champions League Elite winner with Al Ahli Saudi FC, swinging in a pinpoint free-kick to Romdhane at the back post to guide the ball past Al Owais.Inzaghi sent on Koulibaly, Watkins and Nasser al-Dawsari as the Italian tactician looked to rescue the tie but the best Al Hilal could muster was a Yusuf Akcicek shot that was straight at Babacar Seck as the four-time Asian champions succumbed to their first defeat in the League Stage. 

Al Sadd suffered a second consecutive defeat in the AFC Champions League Elite after going down 2-0 to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal yesterday.Ollie Watkins put Al Hilal ahead in the first half before Ruben Neves converted a penalty to seal the victory and secure the Saudi side’s second successive win.The match got off to a lively start at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium as Al Hilal seized the initiative, with Gabriel Martinelli seeing his rushed effort from inside the box blocked following a sweeping counter-attacking move in the sixth minute.The four-time Asian champions came close a minute later when Mohamed Kanno rose highest to meet Neves’ cross with a powerful header, only for Meshaal Barsham to parry clear with a fine low save.Al Sadd responded through Agustin Soria, whose deflected drive from distance was turned behind by Yassine Bounou in the 11th minute, while Sultan Mandash’s low effort had Barsham at full stretch at the other end a minute later.The home side were denied the lead in the 33rd minute when Akram Afif played the ball through for Mohammad al-Manai inside the box, but his effort from an acute angle struck the left post.Al Hilal’s persistence paid off in the 40th minute when Watkins, who despite being nudged to the ground by Soria inside the box, improvised and squeezed the ball past a sprawling Barsham.The Saudi Arabian side continued to threaten after the break, with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic firing wide in the 46th minute, before Al Sadd’s Claudinho saw his effort blocked three minutes later after being picked out by Afif.Watkins came close in the 61st minute when Martinelli fed the former Aston Villa forward through on goal with only Barsham to beat but Paulo Otavio slid across to block the shot, inadvertently handling the ball and conceding a penalty after a VAR review.Neves made no mistake from the spot, sending Barsham the wrong way as he planted a powerful shot into the top left corner, before the Al Sadd custodian limped off injured and was replaced by Saad Al Sheeb.Al Sadd almost reduced the deficit in the 77th minute when Roberto Firmino squeezed a shot past Bounou from a tight angle, only for Kalidou Koulibaly to clear the ball on the line as Al Hilal comfortably saw out the win. 

Qatar’s Al Gharafa gave Al Hilal a stern test before going down 2-1 to the Saudi Arabian giants in their opening Asian Champions League Elite match in Riyadh on Tuesday.Al Hilal, bidding for a fifth Asian title, made the brighter start but the game was disrupted midway through the first half when both sides were reduced to 10 men.Al Gharafa took the game to Al Hilal in the opening minutes as Yassine Bounou was forced to make saves to deny Adam Ounas and Jang Hyun-soo as the home side started with 18-year-old Kader Meite up front.Al Hilal worked their way into the game with Gabriel Martinelli having a left foot effort from an acute angle saved by Ahmed Kone before Sergej Milinkovic-Savic nodded over unchallenged from a good position.The game took a turn in the 32nd minute when Crysencio Summerville was shown the red card for shoving Abdulrahman Al Rasheedi off the field but in the heated exchange, Ismael Bennacer was also sent off for tugging at the Al Hilal forward’s hair.Al Rasheedi was involved again when he tripped Saimon Bouabre in the box, gifting Al Hilal a late first half penalty which Ruben Never nervelessly slotted home in the third minute of added time.Al Hilal continued to test Kone’s reflexes after the interval with Neves, Martinelli and Bouabre all having a go but the Al Gharafa custodian stood strong to keep the Qatari side in the game.Maintaining sustained pressure, it was no surprise when the second goal arrived in the 72nd minute, Neves delivered a perfect cross to the back post for Milinkovic-Savic to power home from close range.Al Gharafa struck in stoppage time through a spectacular Alaaeddin Hasan strike from outside the box but it was nothing more than a consolation with the final whistle blowing seconds after the restart.A tough test awaits Al Hilal next as the Saudi Pro League side face another Qatari side in Al Sadd on October 13 while Al Gharafa will count on home advantage when they host Esteghlal FC of Iran a day earlier. 

Al Hilal continued the perfect start to their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Al Sadd in their AFC Champions League Elite 2025-26 tie Tuesday.Strikes from Yusuf Akcicek, Kalidou Koulibaly and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic steered Simone Inzaghi’s side to a third victory while Al Sadd’s wait for a triumph continued as they suffered defeat after having started with two draws.Al Hilal, who were missing Joao Cancelo and Salem al-Dawsari, made five changes to the starting line-up that defeated Al Ettifaq 5-0 in a Saudi Pro League tie on Friday while Al Sadd introduced four changes from their last continental stage outing against United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah.Following a cagey start, the home side had the first look at goal in the 10th minute after Ruben Neves helped set up Kaio Cesar from a corner, only for the Brazilian midfielder to fire wide off the right post.Al Sadd were almost punished in the 18th minute when Milinkovic-Savic and Abdullah Al Hamddan combined to split open their defence, only for Savic’s effort to be parried away by keeper Meshaal Barsham.Another lapse followed in the 23rd minute as Mohamed Kanno’s cross found Milinkovic-Savic, who had the time and space to pick his spot but missed his target from the top of the box but Al Hilal made no mistake two minutes later.The pressure finally got to the Qatari side after they failed to deal with a Santos Almeida free-kick, allowing Koulibaly to nudge the ball into the path of Akcicek, who slotted home from close range. The Qatari side were caught out again in the 40th minute after Ruben Neves whipped in a cross for Koulibaly to power home with a header.The four-time Asian champions threatened to extend their advantage in the second half with Ahmed Suhail and Milinkovic-Savic coming close two minutes after the restart, while Marcos Leonardo saw his soft close range attempt parried away by Barsham.Against the run of play, Al Sadd pulled one back in the 63rd minute when a clever Pedro Miguel pass found Roberto Firmino - who tasted continental glory with Al Ahli Saudi FC last season - to slot home.Sergio Alegre’s side came knocking again 10 minutes later when Pedro Miguel released Paulo Otavio inside the box, only for Koulibaly to intervene with a clearance. Al Hilal, however, put the game to bed in the 82nd minute with Milinkovic-Savic curling a stunning free-kick over the Al Sadd wall past a sprawling Barsham.Al Hilal had a chance to extend their lead in stoppage time after Abdullah Al Yazidi conceded a penalty but Barsham kept out Cesar’s spot-kick but it did not dampen the gloss on their victory. Al Hilal will seek a fourth win against Al Gharafa SC on November 3 while Al Sadd will play Al Ahli Saudi FC a day later.

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.

Al Rayyan Sports Club Thursday officially announced the signing of Serbian international striker Aleksandar Mitrovic from Saudi Arabian giants Al Hilal. The high-profile move comes as part of Al Rayyan’s efforts to strengthen their squad ahead of the new football season.In a statement, Al Rayyan expressed their appreciation to Al Hilal and its board of directors, headed by His Highness Prince Nawaf bin Saad Al Saud, for their cooperation in completing the transfer. The club described the deal as a significant step in building a competitive team capable of challenging for top honours.Mitrovic, 29, is considered one of the most prominent goal scorers of his generation. Known for his physical presence, aerial ability, and clinical finishing, the Serbian forward brings with him a wealth of experience from top leagues across Europe and Asia, as well as the international stage.The striker began his professional career at Partizan Belgrade, where he won the Serbian league title. He later moved to Anderlecht in Belgium, shining as the league’s top scorer and helping the club win the Pro League title. Mitrovic then made the switch to England, playing for Newcastle United in the Premier League, before enjoying his most prolific spell at Fulham, where he became the club’s top scorer and played a key role in securing promotion to the top tier.Before joining Al Rayyan, Mitrovic spent a successful stint with Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, where he won a domestic treble the Saudi Pro League, the King’s Cup, and the Saudi Super Cup. His individual numbers have been equally impressive across all clubs he has represented.At Al Hilal, Mitrovic scored 68 goals and provided 15 assists in 79 appearances. During his time at Fulham, he netted 97 goals in 173 matches, and he scored 44 goals in 90 games for Anderlecht. On the international stage, he is the all-time leading scorer for the Serbian national team, with 62 goals in 100 appearances.