Bounedjah Shines As Al Sadd Thrash Al Ain

:Baghdad Bounedjah scored twice and provided the assist for another goal as former champions Al Sadd turned on the pace and style to thrash Al Ain 4-0 in Group D of the Asian Champions League on Friday

Doha (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Sep, 2020 ) :Baghdad Bounedjah scored twice and provided the assist for another goal as former champions Al Sadd turned on the pace and style to thrash Al Ain 4-0 in Group D of the Asian Champions League on Friday.

Al Sadd's domestic rivals Al Duhail, however, fell to a 4-2 defeat against Sharjah, leaving Group C open with all four teams in with a chance of qualifying for the last 16.

Xavi's Al Sadd had featured in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Al Ain when the teams clashed on Tuesday, a result that had disappointed the Barcelona and Spain great who called upon his team to show more purpose in their remaining matches.

On Friday they responded in emphatic fashion in the reverse fixture with a scintillating display that sent the 2003 winners crashing out of the tournament with just one point to show after four games.

Bounedjah put 2011 winners Al Sadd ahead in the 26th minute with a crisp shot after receiving a perfect pass from 2019 AFC Player of the Year Akram Afif.

Al Sadd consolidated in the 56th minute, this time Afif sliding in to meet a cross from Bounedjah as the Al Ain defence was found wanting.

Kodjo Laba almost pulled one back for Al Ain with a great solo effort but his powerful shot was deflected away by Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad al-Sheeb.

Bounedjah, the top scorer in the 2018 tournament with 13 goals, recorded his second goal in the 70th minute when he grabbed a pass from the hard-working Santi Cazorla and hammered the ball past Al Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eissa.

Brazilian veteran Rodrigo Tabata, who came in as a substitute in the 73rd minute, put the match to bed with a fine shot to the roof of the net in the 86th minute.

- Thriller - Meanwhile, Al Duhail found themselves at the receiving end of a 4-2 thriller that saw Sharjah grabbing their first win in the tournament since 2004.

But it was Al Duhail who opened the scoring with Abdullah al-Ahrak's powerful shot from 25 yards off an Almoez Ali pass beating Sharjah goalkeeper Adel al-Hosani in the 12th minute.

Al Duhail's joy didn't last long as Khalid Bawazir equalized in the 18th minute, but the second half saw the home side struggling as Sharjah took control.

Al Duhail's cause was hurt by a straight red card for Moroccan defender Medhi Benatia who elbowed Igor Coronado and resulted in Sharjah's second goal. Coronado's free-kick saw the goalkeeper beaten but the ball bounced off the post and fell to Majed Suroor who scored a diving header in the 62nd minute. There was much more to come as Almoez Ali made good of a Mohamed Muntari pass to restore parity in the 70th minute.

But another moment of indiscretion by Al Duhail saw Mohamed Musa bring down Sharjah's Welliton resulting in a penalty and Coronado made no mistake from the spot in the 75th minute.

Caio then made it 4-2 in the first minute of stoppage time to complete Sharjah's victory.

In a late match on Friday, Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr beat Iran's Sepahan 2-0 to go top of Group D with 10 points.

Abdulla Madu put Al Nassr ahead in the 32nd minute while Abderrazak Hamdallah increased the margin in nine minutes later.

Iran's Persepolis, meanwhile, recorded their second win, beating Saudi Arabia's Al Taawoun 1-0 to go top of Group C with seven points from four matches.

Bashar Rasan scored the all-important goal from the penalty spot in the 48th minute to give Persepolis their second win over Al Taawoun this week.