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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.

Qatar’s Al Sadd came from behind to hold the Iraqi side Al Shorta 1-1 in their AFC Champions League Elite League Stage opener at the Al Zawraa Stadium in Baghdad Monday. Al Shorta took the lead through Dominique Mendy in the first half but Hassan al-Haydos equalised for the Qatari side in the second period as the sides had to be satisfied with a stalemate. Al Shorta controlled the narrative from the start with Mendy almost beating Al Sadd keeper Meshaal Barsham in the 16th minute when his shot from distance sailed just over the crossbar. Felix Sanchez’s Al Sadd almost found a way through eight minutes later when Al Haydos lobbed a neat pass to Rafa Mujica, only for the forward to miscue his volley from inside the box. Al Shorta’s pressure was rewarded in the 28th minute with Mendy marking his debut with a memorable goal after latching onto a poor clearance to drive into the box and drilling the ball past Barsham. Al Sadd nearly responded 10 minutes later with Akram Afif firing wide from distance, while Mujica saw his effort come back off the right post after slipping past two Al Shorta defenders and keeper Ahmed Basil. The Iraqi side stayed on top of things in the second half with Leonel Ateba threatening in the 56th minute before Al Sadd hit back six minutes later. Mujica’s effort was blocked before Boualem Khoukhi saw his header denied by the bar from the ensuing corner, which led to the Spaniard seeing his cross into the box deflected onto the path of Al Haydos, who struck with precision into the bottom left corner. Al Shorta piled on the pressure in the closing stages with Mendy and Abdulrazzaq Qasim seeing their efforts from distance fall short while Mahmoud Al Mawas left Barsham off the hook through his free-kick. Afif had a chance to snatch victory in the third minute of stoppage time but skied his close range effort as the sides settled for the share of the spoils. Ten-man Gharafa lose in thriller Igor Coronado struck deep into injury time to earn hosts Sharjah FC a thrilling 4-3 win over 10-man Al Gharafa at Sharjah Stadium as the Emirati side kicked off their AFC Champions League Elite campaign in dramatic style. Coronado slid his shot beyond substitute goalkeeper Lecomte Amine nine minutes into stoppage time to complete a remarkable comeback for the AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 winners, who had trailed for much of the match. The Qataris were given the opportunity to go in front in the 33rd minute when referee Majed al-Shamrani was called to the pitch side monitor to review a tackle by Geronimo Poblete on Yacine Brahimi, with the official eventually pointing to the spot. Brahimi took full advantage, stepping up to fire a right-foot strike high into the top corner and well beyond the dive of Darwish Mohammad. Vladimir Prijovic almost levelled two minutes into added time when he fizzed a shot wide of Khalifa Ababacar’s left post while seconds later Coronado, introduced from the bench just moments later, clipped the frame of the goal with another effort from the edge of the area. Sharjah’s hopes were further dented four minutes into added time when Brahimi’s perfectly weighted pass released Joselu into the area and the Spanish striker put his first-time effort past Mohammad. The home side looked beaten at the interval but halved the deficit on the hour mark to spark a revival. Ousmane Camara was brought down by Seydou Sano’s challenge and, although Ababacar saved Manaj’s penalty, the striker converted the rebound. Two minutes later the teams were level. The Al Gharafa defence made a mess of clearing Coronado’s cross from the right and Camara thumped his shot into the bottom corner from eight yards out. A foul by Shaheen Abdalla on Joselu handed the initiative back to the visitors, the Sharjah captain upending the former Real Madrid forward, who converted the penalty to put his side back in front in the 73rd minute. Ababacar’s clumsy foul on Manaj in the dying minutes saw the goalkeeper handed a red card and Manaj stepped up to thump his free kick home while nine minutes later Coronado claimed the points for Sharjah with a left-foot finish that he slotted past the Amine. Duhail face away test against Hilal Qatar’s Al Duhail will take on Saudi giants Al Hilal in their opening AFC Champions League Elite Tuesday. Duhail, who have only once advanced to the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League, will be determined to throw a spanner in Hilal's bid for the title. The records, however, are not in their favour as Duhail have lost their last three matches against Saudi teams in the competition. Hilal - after their semi-final disappointment last season - can be expected to spare no effort in their bid for a fifth Asian title, which spells danger for Qatar's Duhail. Hilal walked away 7-0 winners the last time the two sides met on the continental stage - in the semi-finals of the 2022 edition - which stretched their unbeaten run against Duhail to six games. Such is their record that Hilal have only lost once at home in 12 meetings against teams from Qatar on the continental stage.

Al Shorta will have to dust off rust when they host Al Sadd SC in their opening AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 tie Monday.Al Shorta have yet to kick off their Iraqi domestic campaign while reigning Qatar champions Al Sadd will have the benefit of having already played several competitive matches.Both sides endured contrasting fortunes on the continental stage last season - Al Shorta's campaign ended in the League Stage while Al Sadd advanced to the quarter-finals."I'm happy to be in Baghdad, and I hope the match will be enjoyable for the fans," Al Sadd coach Felix Sanchez said Sunday. "We realize the importance of the tournament with its new format."What's most important now is for the players to be in the best possible condition for the match," he added.Al Sadd defender Tarqe Salman said Sunday: "A strong and somewhat a difficult match awaits us against the Shorta. Our loss against Al Shahaniya was a setback (in QSL), but we are capable of getting back on the right track."It will be a first meeting between the sides and the two will be determined to start on the front foot with Al Shorta having never won their opening AFC Champions League match while 2011 champions Al Sadd are winless in their last six curtain raisers.Al Shorta, in fact, only managed a single victory as they finished 11th in the League Stage last season.Al Sadd will be confident of taking the points, having ended a three-season wait by advancing to the knockout stage last season and the mercurial Akram Afif - who was involved in goals in each of his last five AFC Champions League Elite matches - will be expected to lead their charge.Sharjah FC (UAE) v Al Gharafa SCSharjah FC and Al Gharafa SC will target an opening day win when they square off in the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 Monday.UAE's Sharjah will be aiming to maintain their momentum from their AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 triumph while Qatar's Al Gharafa will be determined to avoid last season's league stage exit.The sides have kicked off their respective domestic forms relatively well, with Sharjah in the upper half of the standings.Al Gharafa defeated Al Sailiya 2-0 on Friday to sit third in the Qatar Stars League standings and will look forward to a first meeting with Sharjah.The UAE side, who were held 2-2 by Khor Fakkan in their league tie on Friday, will be determined to maximise home ground advantage, with Sharjah having a poor record against teams from Qatar on the continental stage - having only won once in six previous encounters.Al Gharafa will be keen to avoid last season's troubles on the continental stage, where they won only two of their matches to finish 10th in the standings.