[Sport] Al-Nasr Saudi Club reserves the well-deserved qualification card for the second round

[HiTLeR]

 

Al-Nasr Saudi Club deservedly booked the qualification ticket for the Round of 16 after defeating Iranian Sepahan 2-0 on Friday at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, in the fourth round of Group D in the 2020 AFC Champions League.

Abdullah Mado (32) and Moroccan Abd al-Razzaq Hamdallah (41) scored the two winning goals for Al-Nasr.

Hamdallah won the best player award in the match, and he continued to fly the tournament’s top scorer with 5 goals.

This was the second confrontation between the two teams within three days, as the previous confrontation ended with a 2-0 victory also on Tuesday in the third round.

The second match in the same group on Tuesday also saw the Qatari Al Sadd beat Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 4-0 at the same stadium.

Al-Nassr maintained the top of the group standings with 10 points from four matches, compared to 8 points for Al-Sadd, 3 for Sepahan and a point for Al-Ain, as Al-Nasr secured qualification for the round of 16, while Al-Sadd competes with Sepahan for the second card.

The two teams started the match with offensive intentions, and Sepahan had an opportunity in the 13th minute when Rasoul Nafidikia hit an attempt from the right side, which was blocked by goalkeeper Brad Jones, before the Saudi defense banished the danger.

Sepahan tried to pressure the victory goal in search of a victory that would keep him in the competition to qualify for the group, and a second chance was given to the team by Soroush Rifai, who made his way into the penalty area before he fired an attempt over the goalkeeper Jones passed over the crossbar (18).

But Al-Nassr confirmed his offensive strength, to open the scoring in the 32nd minute after a corner kick through which the ball reached Abdul Razzaq Hamdallah, who cleverly prepared it in front of Abdullah Mado, and he hit the crossbar and continued its way into the goal.

Sepahan missed the most dangerous chances in the 39th minute when he sent a cross pass from the left side that reached the empty goal door to the Shehab Zadeh carpet, who was surprised by it and did not use it well, and the victory responded directly with Gonzalo Martinez's shot from inside the area, which goalkeeper Payam Niasmand sent away to a corner kick.

But Al-Nassr again managed to score when Hamdallah received Sultan Al-Ghanem's pass and shot from a narrow angle from under goalkeeper Niyazmand (41).

At the beginning of the second half, Al-Nassr almost added the third goal, when Hamdallah prepared the ball for Martinez to pay the brilliance of goalkeeper Niyazmand to block it (50), then Abdul Majeed Al-Salihim hit a ball from outside the area that passed next to the post.

On the other side, Sebahan's most dangerous chances in this half were by substitute Kiros's shot from the left side, which rebounded from the crossbar (70).

Al-Nasr responded through Hamdallah alone, after receiving Khaled Al-Ghanem's pass and facing the Iranian goalkeeper, but he fired next to Al-Qaim (77).

The fifth round of the group competitions will be held on Monday, where Al Sadd will meet Al Nasr, and Sepahan will meet Al Ain.

The first round saw Al-Nassr drew 2-2 with Al-Sadd and Sebahan beat Al Ain 4-0, while the second round saw Al-Sadd victory over Sepahan 3-0 and victory over Al Ain 2-1, and the third round saw Al-Nasr defeated Sepahan 2-0 and Al Ain drew With Al Sadd 3-3.