Al Duhail First Football Team secured a major victory over their guests, Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia, with four goals to two in the fifth-round matches of the league stage of the AFC Champions League Elite.
Led by Djamel Belmadi, Al Duhail started the match with the following starting lineup: (30) Bautista Burke (Goalkeeper), (6) Marco Verratti, (8) Edmilson Junior, (10) Luis Alberto, (17) Youssef Sabaly, (18) Sultan Al Brake, (19) Benjamin Bourigeaud, (21) Jean Castelletto, (22) Ibrahima Bamba, (77) Adel Boulbina.
Al Duhail took an early lead through Adel Boulbina in the 5th minute with a powerful shot from outside Al-Ittihad penalty area that nestled into the top left corner, announcing Al Duhail first lead of the night.
Adel Boulbina shone again in the 33rd minute after a quick run from midfield, during which he skillfully dribbled past Al-Ittihad defenders to find himself one-on-one with the goal, calmly placing it into the net for Al Duhail second goal of the match.
In the 47th minute, Al Duhail almost added a third goal, but the left post of Al-Ittihad goal denied Adel Boulbina’s shot, wasting an opportunity to increase the lead.
In the 52nd minute, the star of the night, Adel Boulbina, successfully added Al Duhail third goal and completed his hat-trick after skillfully maneuvering past Al-Ittihad defense, firing a left-footed rocket that went into the Al-Ittihad net, announcing Al Duhail third goal of the night.
In the 69th minute, following a magic pass from Luis Alberto, Adel Boulbina almost scored a super hat-trick, but the Al-Ittihad goalkeeper brilliantly saved his shot, keeping Al Duhail lead at three goals.
In the 74th minute, Krzysztof Piątek added Al Duhail fourth goal with a rocket shot from outside the penalty area that Al-Ittihad goalkeeper failed to keep out of his team’s net, making the score 4-0 in favor of Al Duhail.
In the 76th minute, Karim Benzema scored the first goal for Al-Ittihad.
In the 77th minute, Krzysztof Piątek nearly reached Al-Ittihad goal again to score Al Duhail fifth, were it not for the brilliance of Al-Ittihad goalkeeper, who managed to push it out for a corner.
In the 83rd minute, Al-Ittihad striker Karim Benzema succeeded in adding the second goal for the visitors, making the score 4-2 in favor of Al Duhail.
The seven minutes of added time by the referee did not yield anything new regarding the score, and the match ended with Al Duhail winning four goals to two, raising Al Duhail tally to seven points.
