21/10/2024–|Last updated: 10/21/202411:38 PM (Mecca time)
Al-Shorta of Iraq failed to achieve its first victory in the AFC Champions League for elite football, with a 0-0 draw with its guest, Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan, in the third round of the league stage for the Western Region on Monday.
Al-Shorta raised its score to two points after drawing in the first round with Al-Nasr and losing by five to Al-Hilal in the second round. Pakhtakor also raised its score to two points after losing in the first round to Al-Wasl and tying in the second with Peruzzi.
The two teams exchanged offensive attempts during the match, with Al-Shorta having the advantage, but neither of them succeeded in reaching the goal. The start was equal, as the two teams shared control, but there were no real chances for both goals during the first quarter of an hour of the match, as most of the attempts ended on the outskirts of the penalty area.
The advantage then went to Pakhtakor, which became the most widespread thanks to the movements of Sardor Sabirkhojaev and Dragan Seran in the middle of the field.
The Uzbek team initiated the threat through Omar Adhamzoda's shot, which went over the crossbar in the 18th minute.
Al-Shorta's performance improved in the last minutes of the first half and took the lead on many occasions, most notably when Muhammad Daoud made a great effort inside the area, passed goalkeeper Vladimir Nazarov and shot a ball toward the goal that was successfully cleared by defender Shahzod Azamaldinov before it crossed the goal line in the 42nd minute.
Muhannad Ali stood out in the Iraqi team's attacking line when his runs caused many problems for the Pakhtakor team and he almost scored the first goal when he shot a powerful ball from outside the area, but it passed near the left post in the 45th minute.
The police searched hard to reach Pakhtakor's goal from the beginning of the second half, and Muhannad Ali missed a golden opportunity to score when he received a ball inside the area and shot it towards the goal, but goalkeeper Vladimir Nazarov successfully blocked it in the 48th minute.
Goalkeeper Nazarov continued his brilliance in the match when he blocked Manaf Younis's header, which came from inside the area. Then Muhannad Ali reappeared when he shot a ball from outside the penalty area just above the crossbar in the 51st minute.
Iraqi attempts continued against the Uzbek team's goal when Mahmoud Al-Mawas shot a ball from outside the area, but goalkeeper Nazarov blocked it in the 52nd minute. Then the pace of play calmed down a little, with few reaching the goal.
Matthews Uribe opens the scoring for Al Sadd of Qatar#AFC_Champions_League_Elite pic.twitter.com/QJr76aO6sX
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) October 21, 2024
Uribe leads Al Sadd to victory over Peruzzi
In another match in the tournament, Colombian Mateus Uribe scored a goal before the break, and goalkeeper Mishal Barshim excelled on more than one occasion to lead Al Sadd, champions of Qatar, to achieve a second successive victory in the AFC Elite Champions League stage with a 1-0 win over its guest, Iranian Peruzzi.
Uribe scored the only goal of the match with a shot from close range after a corner kick in first-half stoppage time. The goal was awarded after a long review by the video assistant referee, amid strong protests from Peruzzi and his coach, Juan Carlos Garrido.
Al Sadd's crossbar blocked a dangerous attempt from Peruzzi in stoppage time of the second half.
Al-Sadd raised its score to seven points from three matches in the Al-Gharb group, compared to one point for the Iranian team.
Al-Sadd recently rose up in the Qatar Stars League and defeated Al-Gharafa and Al-Shahania after two losses from Al-Duhail and Umm Salal. It also beat Iranian Esteghlal in the last match of the continental championship.
Asian Champions System
The new version of the AFC Champions League for the elite uses the Swiss league system, and the clubs are divided into two league stages, each of which includes 12 teams from the East and West Asian regions, and each team plays with eight different competitors after a computer-assisted draw.
The best eight clubs in each league qualify for the elimination rounds scheduled for March, with the quarter-final, semi-final and final matches being held in a group format in Saudi Arabia in the months of April and May.