Al-Sadd rose to the top of Group D in the AFC Champions League after a 1-0 victory over Iran’s Foolad, in the Matchday 5 game that was played on Monday at Faisal bin Fahd Stadium.
Nam Tae-hee scored the only goal of the game in the 64th minute. With this victory, the Wolves climbed to the top of the group with a tally of 10 points.
Al-Sadd began the game on the front foot and had a great chance in the 9th minute, when Santi Cazorla’s delivery from a corner was deflected towards Guilherme. The Brazilian took a shot but the keeper kept it out.
As the first half progressed, both teams tried to come up with attempts to score but without any real danger. In the 27th minute, Guilherme played a cross in from the right and it got deflected towards goal, but a Foolad defender cleared it just in time.
Abdelkarim Hassan then fired a powerful shot in the 31st minute which flew just wide of the left post. Al-Sadd stepped up the pressure in the last few minutes and threatened the goal with numerous opportunities, until the whistle went for halftime.
When the second half started, Al-Sadd once again pushed forward and Nam Tae-hee almost got the breakthrough goal in the 47th minute. Cazorla played in a through ball towards Nam, but the South Korean international’s shot went out for a corner.
The Wolves continued to dominate the match, and Baghdad Bounedjah had a great opportunity in the 60th minute, after Foolad’s mistake in controlling the ball. Al Haydos capitalised and passed to Baghdad, whose shot was kept out at the goal-line by Foolad defender Coulibaly.
Finally, in the 64th minute, the goal arrived. Pedro moved the ball wide to Hassan Al-Haydos on the right, and the captain sent a perfect cross for Nam Tae-hee to head in.
After the goal, Al Sadd tried to maintain a balance between defense and attack, while Foolad pressed hard to score the equaliser. Despite the pressure, the Wolves held on to clinch the three points.
MATCH DETAILS
Al-Sadd x Foolad (AFC Champions League Group D – Matchday 5)
Venue:
Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
Lineups:
Al-Sadd: Meshaal Barsham, Pedro Miguel, Abdelkarim Hassan, Tarek Salman, Khoukhi Boualem, Mohammed Waad (Salem Al-Hajri), Guilherme, Santi Cazorla, Nam Tae-hee, Hassan Al-Haydos (Yousuf Abdurisag), Baghdad Bounedjah
Foolad: M. Forouzan, M. Coulibaly, A. Aghasi, M. Derakhshanmehr, M. Najjarian, A. Patosi, M. Abshak, M. Niknafas, F. Ahmadzadeh, Luciano Chimba, S. Ansari
Result:
Al-Sadd won 1-0
Goals:
Nam Tae-hee 64′
Bookings:
Luciano Chimba 18′
Mohammed Waad 18′
Pedro Miguel 25′
Santi Cazorla 34′
Meshaal Barsham 90+3′
Referees:
Main referee: Ali Shabaan (Kuwait)
Assistant 1: Abbas Ghuloom (Kuwait)
Assistant 2: Ameer Dawood Hussein (Iraq)
Fourth official: Kassem El Hatmi (Oman)
