Shabab Al Ahli rout Nasaf, Conceicao praises Al Ittihad after Al Shorta romp

Three first half goals helped Shabab Al Ahli of the UAE secure a 4-1 win against Uzbekistan’s PFC Nasaf in their AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 clash on Tuesday.

Paulo Sousa’s side, who beat Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad Club on Matchday Two, moved onto seven points with Nasaf suffering a third consecutive defeat.

An entertaining start to the match produced early goals with Shabab Al Ahli the first to strike, Mersad Seifi sending Guilherme Bala through on the left in the eighth minute, whose cross was turned in by Federico Cartabia.

Nasaf didn’t take long to provide a response, equalising two minutes later after Shabab Al Ahli half cleared a cross that fell to Sardorbek Bakhromov, who placed the ball with a header for Zafarmurod Abdirakhmatov to curl a spectacular low shot beyond Hamad Almeqbaali.

The home side restored their lead in the 27th minute when Renan Victor powered a header towards goal from Cartabia’s inswinging free-kick, with the bouncing ball catching Nasaf goalkeeper Oleksandr Vorobei off guard as it nestled in the net.

A direct play in the 41st minute saw a perfect through ball from Saeid Ezatohali to release Matevsao, who shrugged off Shukhrat Mukhammadiev before lifting past the advancing Vorobei for Shabab Al Ahli to take a 3-1 half-time lead.

Mu’nas Dabbur hit the post for Shabab Al Ahli two minutes into the restart before a tangle between Stefan Colovic and Victor in the box saw a VAR check which upon review, saw referee Shen Yihao deciding to stick with his initial decision of no penalty.

Nasaf head coach Ruzikul Berdiev tried to rescue the tie by sending on midfielder Javokhir Sidikov and forward Khusain Norchaev - who scored a brace against Al Ahli Saudi FC on Matchday One - just after the hour mark but the Uzbekistan side still were not able to trouble Almeqbaali much.

image content Instead, Breno completed a rousing win for Shabab Al Ahli in stoppage time when he got the final touch ahead of Vorobei to turn in Bala’s drilled cross.

Shabab Al Ahli will look for a third victory when they take on Qatar’s Al Duhail SC on November 3 while Nasaf will be at home to Al Wahda FC of the United Arab Emirates on the same day.

Meanwhile, Sergio Conceicao praised Al Ittihad club’s fighting spirit after they rallied from an early setback to register their first win in the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 on Monday.

Trailing to a Bassam Shakir strike at the Al-Madina International Stadium, Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad roared back with Moussa Diaby equalising in the 17th minute with Fabinho edging them ahead 12 minutes later.

Conceicao’s men were not disheartened by Danilo Pereira’s red card in the 50th minute as substitute Houssem Aouar netted twice to end their losing start to their continental campaign.

Conceicao, in his match in charge on the continental stage, said his immediate task is to motivate his players.

“We are happy with our first win in the AFC Champions League Elite and we will strive to improve and avoid mistakes in upcoming matches,” said Conceicao.

“The goal we conceded early in the match gave us the strength to come back and win. I was not nervous and I must react enthusiastically to motivate the players. The most important thing is to win, especially since we were the better team for most of the match.”

Despite a second successive defeat which left his side on a single point after three matches, Al Shorta head coach Moamen Soliman expressed pride in his team’s performance.

“I am proud of my players. I consider them among the best in the world and I have complete confidence in their abilities,” said Soliman.

“We must acknowledge that there are vast differences between us and Ittihad. But despite that, we played well, created chances, and scored a goal.

“I am satisfied with my team’s performance and the result doesn’t reflect what happened. The match was full of intensity and attacking moments and we did not expect to lose by four goals.”

Iraq’s Al Shorta face Iran’s Tractor FC next while Al Ittihad will play Sharjah FC.

Three first half goals helped Shabab Al Ahli of the UAE secure a 4-1 win against Uzbekistan’s PFC Nasaf in their AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 clash on Tuesday.

Paulo Sousa’s side, who beat Saudi Arabia’s Al Ittihad Club on Matchday Two, moved onto seven points with Nasaf suffering a third consecutive defeat.

An entertaining start to the match produced early goals with Shabab Al Ahli the first to strike, Mersad Seifi sending Guilherme Bala through on the left in the eighth minute, whose cross was turned in by Federico Cartabia.

Nasaf didn’t take long to provide a response, equalising two minutes later after Shabab Al Ahli half cleared a cross that fell to Sardorbek Bakhromov, who placed the ball with a header for Zafarmurod Abdirakhmatov to curl a spectacular low shot beyond Hamad Almeqbaali.

The home side restored their lead in the 27th minute when Renan Victor powered a header towards goal from Cartabia’s inswinging free-kick, with the bouncing ball catching Nasaf goalkeeper Oleksandr Vorobei off guard as it nestled in the net.

A direct play in the 41st minute saw a perfect through ball from Saeid Ezatohali to release Matevsao, who shrugged off Shukhrat Mukhammadiev before lifting past the advancing Vorobei for Shabab Al Ahli to take a 3-1 half-time lead.

Mu’nas Dabbur hit the post for Shabab Al Ahli two minutes into the restart before a tangle between Stefan Colovic and Victor in the box saw a VAR check which upon review, saw referee Shen Yihao deciding to stick with his initial decision of no penalty.

Nasaf head coach Ruzikul Berdiev tried to rescue the tie by sending on midfielder Javokhir Sidikov and forward Khusain Norchaev - who scored a brace against Al Ahli Saudi FC on Matchday One - just after the hour mark but the Uzbekistan side still were not able to trouble Almeqbaali much.

image content Instead, Breno completed a rousing win for Shabab Al Ahli in stoppage time when he got the final touch ahead of Vorobei to turn in Bala’s drilled cross.

Shabab Al Ahli will look for a third victory when they take on Qatar’s Al Duhail SC on November 3 while Nasaf will be at home to Al Wahda FC of the United Arab Emirates on the same day.

Meanwhile, Sergio Conceicao praised Al Ittihad club’s fighting spirit after they rallied from an early setback to register their first win in the AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 on Monday.

Trailing to a Bassam Shakir strike at the Al-Madina International Stadium, Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad roared back with Moussa Diaby equalising in the 17th minute with Fabinho edging them ahead 12 minutes later.

Conceicao’s men were not disheartened by Danilo Pereira’s red card in the 50th minute as substitute Houssem Aouar netted twice to end their losing start to their continental campaign.

Conceicao, in his match in charge on the continental stage, said his immediate task is to motivate his players.

“We are happy with our first win in the AFC Champions League Elite and we will strive to improve and avoid mistakes in upcoming matches,” said Conceicao.

“The goal we conceded early in the match gave us the strength to come back and win. I was not nervous and I must react enthusiastically to motivate the players. The most important thing is to win, especially since we were the better team for most of the match.”

Despite a second successive defeat which left his side on a single point after three matches, Al Shorta head coach Moamen Soliman expressed pride in his team’s performance.

“I am proud of my players. I consider them among the best in the world and I have complete confidence in their abilities,” said Soliman.

“We must acknowledge that there are vast differences between us and Ittihad. But despite that, we played well, created chances, and scored a goal.

“I am satisfied with my team’s performance and the result doesn’t reflect what happened. The match was full of intensity and attacking moments and we did not expect to lose by four goals.”

Iraq’s Al Shorta face Iran’s Tractor FC next while Al Ittihad will play Sharjah FC.