Al Sadd’s Spanish midfielder Xavi Hernandez (centre) is congratulated by team-mates after he scored the second goal against Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor during their AFC Champions League (ACL) Group D match yesterday.
Tashkent: Al Sadd’s Spanish superstar Xavi Hernandez scored twice but Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor came from behind on both occasions to force a 2-2 draw in their AFC Champions League (ACL) Group D match yesterday.
At the Pakhtakor Central Stadium, the recently crowned Qatar Stars League champions came into the match having ended a four-match winless run in the competition. Meanwhile, Pakhtakor hoped to stay unbeaten on top of the group with a home win.
Both sides made their attacking intents clear from the start and Pakhtakor’s Jaloliddin Masharipov tested the goalkeeper from distance just 90 seconds into the match.
Al Sadd’s first sight of goal came quickly after and it was decisive as Baghdad Bounedjah supplied a low cross for Xavi who curled it from the edge of the box into the top corner to open the scoring for the visitors in the sixth minute.
Within three minutes, Pakhtakor responded in spectacular fashion as Khojiakbar Alijonov pounced on a poor defensive clearance to unleash a thunderous drive that nestled in the top corner of Mesha Aissa’s goal.
Goals kept raining at the Pakhtakor Central Stadium and it was again Al Sadd captain Xavi who found the back of the net. The Spanish midfielder curled-in a perfect free-kick from 25 yards that beat goalkeeper Sanjar Kuvvatov to restore the Qataris’ lead in the 16th minute.
Pakhtakor were again able to claw back the margin before the half-time break. Masharipov crossed for Dragan Ceran who directed his header to the far post past Aissa to make it 2-2.
The hosts, propelled by a loud crowd, dominated possession in the second half, while Al Sadd looked to hit on the counter.
Bounedjah thought he had scored his second goal of the 2019 AFC Champions League 15 minutes after the restart when his header connected perfectly with Akram Afif’s cross from a corner kick, but the Algerian’s effort missed by a whisker.
Following a quick exchange of passes down the right flank, the ball was fed to Sardor Sobirkhodjaev who tried to drive it in first-time from the edge of the box, but his ball did not dip fast enough and landed on the roof the goal.
Despite the two teams’ best efforts, there were no goals in the second 45 minutes and the spoils were shared ahead of the reverse fixture in two weeks’ time at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.
Meanwhile, in Doha, an added-time goal from Leonardo sealed a 2-1 comeback win for UAE’s Al Wahda against Al Rayyan yesterday.
The two sides went into the fixture level on three points, with goal difference favouring Al Wahda.
Al Rayyan looked to pump crosses into the box for Gelmin Rivas throughout the first half with the Venezuelan striker seeing his header saved by goalkeeper Mohammed Al Shamsi at the 15-minute mark.
Rivas was again at the receiving end of a Mohammed Juma cross six minutes later, but he failed direct his header goalward.
Korean defender Rim Chang-woo responded with a headed effort for Al Wahda, but his ball sailed over the crossbar, before Rivas again missed a header from a Rodrigo Tabata cross. A last-ditch tackle from Mohamed Alaeldin denied the UAE side a certain scoring opportunity before the half-time break. The Qatar defender snatched the ball from underneath the feet of Leonardo as the Brazilian was set to pull the plug following a quick counter attack.
The match burst into life in the second half as Rivas finally got his goal for Al Rayyan. The striker evaded his marker to get on the end of Lucca Borges’ cross from the right wing and slip home the opener eight minutes after the restart.
Al Wahda restored parity in the 67th minute through Sebastian Tagliabue. Playmaker Ismail Matar supplied a superb through pass for the Argentine who latched onto the ball and applied a composed finish past goalkeeper Fahad Younis.
There was to be late heartbreak for the local supporters as defender Musa Haroon was penalised for pulling down Leonardo inside the box in added time.
The Brazilian stepped up to take the spot-kick himself and drove home the Emirati side’s second win of the campaign.
Al Wahda will go into the reverse fixture at home in two weeks’ time boosted by the away win and six points in their tally, while another defeat in Abu Dhabi could complicate Al Rayyan’s situation in the race for qualification to the Round of 16.
