Shabab Al Ahli qualified for the second round of the preliminary round of the AFC Champions League for the elite, after defeating Sepahan Isfahan of Iran, with four goals to one, yesterday, at Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium in Iran, so that the “Dubai Knights” will advance to face Al Gharafa of Qatar in Doha next Tuesday for the ticket to qualify for the group stage.
Coach Paulo Sousa’s changes helped Shabab Al Ahli turn a one-goal deficit into a 4-1 win, and the team achieved its first victory under the Portuguese coach.
Sepahan team dominated the midfield in the first half, but without threatening Shabab Al Ahli’s goal, and despite the great focus of the “Dubai Knights” players on not making mistakes, the Iranian team scored the first goal from a surprise ball by Mohammed Mahdi (44).
In the second half, Shabab Al Ahli’s performance improved after coach Paulo Sousa made three changes, with Federico Cartabia, Sardar Azmoun and Harb Suhail coming on for Quan Santos, Eid Khamis and Matheus Lima.
The new Iranian arrival, Sardar Azmoun, made his mark with his first touch, after Cartabia led an organized attack and played a beautiful ball to Yahya Al-Ghassani, who dribbled past the defense and passed the ball to Azmoun, who shot it into the goal, scoring the equalizer (62).
In the first extra half, Yahya Al-Ghassani scored the second goal after he put great pressure on Sepahan’s goalkeeper, snatched the ball from him and shot it into the goal (101), before substitute Yuri Cesar added the third goal in the second extra half (108), while Al-Ghassani added the fourth goal (121) to end the match with Shabab Al-Ahli winning and qualifying for the second round.
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