Al Gharafa’s Ahmed Al Ganehi and Al Sadd’s Romain Saiss were on target as Qatari sides failed to secure wins away in the UAE.
In what turned out to be a frustrating night marked by plenty of missed chances, Qatari sides Al Sadd and Al Gharafa each played a 1-1 stalemate in their respective matches at the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday.
Defending Ooredoo Stars League champions Al Sadd were forced to share points at the Zabeel Stadium against UAE’s Al Wasl.
The Emirati team took the lead in the 29th minute through Colombian defender Alexis Perez, who also had bagged an assist in their 2-1 win at the Al Bayt Stadium against Al Gharafa last month.
Romain Saiss then equalised after a sustained period of dominance from Al Sadd, heading the ball in the net following a free-kick sequence a minute after the hour mark.
Al Sadd were unable to capitalise despite keeping the pressure on, consequently failing to secure their third win in Asia this season.
Head coach Felix Sanchez said Al Sadd were unlucky on the night and deserved to get all three points in Dubai.
“I am pleased with the team’s performance. We tried hard throughout the match and posed a clear offensive threat, but luck prevented us from scoring more goals,” Sanchez said after the stalemate.
Despite creating chances throughout the night, Al Sadd lacked the incisiveness on goal as talismanic forward Akram Afif was kept quiet for the most part.
Keeping the pressure on after Al Wasl’s Soufiane Bouftini was sent off in the 83rd minute came to no avail, despite Al Sadd registering 16 shots and enjoying 64 percent of possession, compared to their opponent’s tally of nine shots.
Al Sadd are the only undefeated Qatari side in Asia this season and have registered eight points in four matches.
“We are on the right path towards qualification, which is the most important thing for us at this stage. Every match in the tournament is a significant challenge, and we will continue working hard for the upcoming games,” head coach Sanchez added.
Al Sadd will face Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia at home in their next ACL Elite fixture on November 26, and will travel to Riyadh to face Al Nassr a week after.
In yet another frustrating 90 minutes of attacking play, Al Gharafa played out a 1-1 draw against Persepolis in Dubai’s Al-Maktoum Stadium.
Al Gharafa were quick to cancel out Farshad Faraji’s 53rd-minute strike that put the Iranian side in the lead as Ahmed Al-Ganehi found the target just three minutes after the initial goal.
The Qatari team upped their tempo after Al-Ganehi’s strike, contrary to the opening half, where both sides looked feeble with just a few shots on goal after an intense first 10 minutes.
Persepolis had come close to scoring a couple of times, yet Rico was present to squander the chances.
Spanish striker Joselu tried to pull off an ambitious overhead kick on the other end in the 20th minute but was denied by the Persepolis defence.
The Cheetahs then became lively in the second half, yet were toothless inside the box and failed to finish the chances. Yacine Brahimi and Florinel Coman were also at the finishing end of the squandered chances, in addition to Joselu.
Al Gharafa now have four points from four games at the ongoing ACL Elite campaign and are in the sixth position.
Persepolis, meanwhile, are just outside of the qualification spots in the ninth place and had come into the clash following a 1-0 loss against Al Sadd in Qatar.
Al Gharafa will host Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr in their next continental clash on November 25.
