The Al-Gharafa Panthers excelled in an enjoyable Asian night and played with Al-Ain, the defending champion, and inflicted on them a first and heavy loss, four-to-two, in the fiery confrontation that took place between them yesterday evening in the second round of the AFC Champions League for the elite. Joselio (two goals) and Seydou Sano, the stars of the match, and Yacine Brahimi scored for Al-Gharafa. In the 45th, 48th, 72nd and 76th minutes, Alejandro Romero (penalty kick) and Sufyan Rahimi scored for Al Ain in the 56th and 66th minutes, and Al Gharafa, with its first victory, raised its score to 3 points, while Al Ain’s score stopped at one point.
Al-Gharafa deserved the victory and the great victory after it showed a good level throughout the match, with the exception of some minutes in which Al-Ain prevailed in the second half and after Al-Gharafa advanced with the second goal.
The first half was good, but most of the time the play was confined to the middle, without many chances for the goalkeepers. The situation changed in the second half, which was exciting and fiery and witnessed 4 goals for both teams.
The first opportunity was Gharfawi in the 7th minute, when Koeman penetrated and shot a powerful ball, which was caught by the goalkeeper twice. Al Ain’s first opportunity appeared in the 23rd minute from a counterattack by Matthieu Sanabry, who started from his field and penetrated and was almost alone, had the defense not caught him at the right moment.
The match calmed down a little and the excitement returned in the 42nd minute with an attempt to penetrate Yassin and his shot with a strong ball that collided with the defense and turned into a corner.
In the 45th minute, Al-Gharafa received a corner kick taken by Brahimi, and Sano hit a strong shot that hit Joselu’s foot and entered the net in the last minute.
Al-Gharafawi’s goal ignited the events of the second half, which began quickly and offensively from the Panthers and through Sano, who started from the right and passed a cross to Joselu’s head, which he snatched before the goalkeeper into the net.
The match heated up and Al Ain rushed with all its players behind the attack and succeeded in reducing the difference from a penalty kick scored by Alejandro Romero. Al Ain continued to press and attack amid a decline for several minutes, allowing the team to equalize in the 66th minute from a ball that reached Sufyan Rahimi, who penetrated and shot into the net.
Al-Gharafa did not back down and was able to quickly return to the atmosphere of the match and controlled the course of the game. He pressed hard and succeeded in snatching the third goal from Koeman’s cross. The brilliant Sano snatched it into the penalty area in the 73rd minute, and the Panthers ended the confrontation 3 minutes later with the fourth goal in the same way and with a cross ground pass from Koeman. This time Yassine Brahimi found his full ball into the net.
