Benzema Leads Al-Ittihad to a Valuable Asian Comeback and Defeats Nasaf in Jeddah
Al-Ittihad team secured an important victory against Uzbekistan's Nasaf with a 1-0 scoreline in the match held at the Al-Inma Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City, as part of the sixth round of the AFC Champions League Elite.
Al-Ittihad faced the match with a lineup chosen by the Portuguese coach Sérgio Conceição, featuring Rajkovic as the goalkeeper, with Al-Shanqeeti, Danilo Pereira, Hassan Kadash, Fabinho, Kanté, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Hamed Al-Ghamdi, Benzema, Diaby, and Berguin in front of him.
Caution dominated the first half, which ended in a goalless draw, as Al-Ittihad failed to impose their offensive threat and was limited to a few attempts without posing a real danger to Nasaf's goal.
At the start of the second half, Al-Ittihad's performance gradually improved, before Karim Benzema succeeded in breaking down the Uzbek defense, scoring the leading goal in the 57th minute, benefiting from a precise cross.
Benzema nearly doubled the score in the 78th minute after leaping to meet a corner kick and powerfully heading the ball, but the crossbar denied Al-Ittihad a second sure goal.
With this victory, Al-Ittihad raised their total to 9 points, securing second place in Group 2 of the AFC Champions League Elite, while Uzbekistan's Nasaf continued to occupy the bottom of the standings without any points.
Al-Ittihad faced the match with a lineup chosen by the Portuguese coach Sérgio Conceição, featuring Rajkovic as the goalkeeper, with Al-Shanqeeti, Danilo Pereira, Hassan Kadash, Fabinho, Kanté, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Hamed Al-Ghamdi, Benzema, Diaby, and Berguin in front of him.
Caution dominated the first half, which ended in a goalless draw, as Al-Ittihad failed to impose their offensive threat and was limited to a few attempts without posing a real danger to Nasaf's goal.
At the start of the second half, Al-Ittihad's performance gradually improved, before Karim Benzema succeeded in breaking down the Uzbek defense, scoring the leading goal in the 57th minute, benefiting from a precise cross.
Benzema nearly doubled the score in the 78th minute after leaping to meet a corner kick and powerfully heading the ball, but the crossbar denied Al-Ittihad a second sure goal.
With this victory, Al-Ittihad raised their total to 9 points, securing second place in Group 2 of the AFC Champions League Elite, while Uzbekistan's Nasaf continued to occupy the bottom of the standings without any points.
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