After a long wait, the AFC Champions League West knockout stage kicked off this week in Qatar.
Three Saudi teams, two Qatari, and one each from Iran, the UAE, and Uzbekistan, started the competition that was put on hold back in June due to the impact of the 2022 World Cup.
A knockout tournament with single-leg clashes - round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, with the winner playing the East zone champions in the AFC Champions League final.
🎥 HIGHLIGHTS | 🇶🇦 Al Duhail 2️⃣-2️⃣ Al Rayyan 🇶🇦 (7️⃣-6️⃣ on penalties)
— #ACL2022 (@TheAFCCL) February 20, 2023
Salah Zakaria is the hero of the night as Al Duhail squeeze past Al Rayyan on penalties to confirm their Quarter-Finals ticket!
Match Report 🔗 https://t.co/yzLOcrFuXs #ACL2022 | #DUHvRYN pic.twitter.com/JDcqC4fQgE
On Sunday night, Al Duhail won the ‘Qatari derby’ against Al Rayyan on penalties, after ending extra time at 1-1.
Edmilson Junior scored Duhail's advantage with his ninth goal in the competition this season, but deep in added time, Steven Nzonzi equalized and sent the game to spot kicks.
After Al Duhail had guaranteed its place in the quarter-finals, Saudi side Al Shabab Riyadh faced off against Uzbek outfit Nasaf Qarshi.
It was a unique masterclass by Al Shabab playmaker Ever Banega, who assisted Hussain Al Qahtani's first goal, and scored himself in the second half with an elegant touch to the post.
The final score was 2-0 to Al Shabab, and the modest club of Riyadh is suddenly a serious contender to reach the final against Urawa Red Diamonds.
🎥 HIGHLIGHTS | 🇸🇦 Al Shabab 2️⃣-0️⃣ FC Nasaf 🇺🇿
— #ACL2022 (@TheAFCCL) February 20, 2023
Al Shabab cruise past FC Nasaf to appear in the last eight for the first time since 2013!
Match Report 🔗 https://t.co/SrFFk0yvOf #ACL2022 | #SHBvNAS pic.twitter.com/gqwnKkTlgW
On Monday, the other two games took place, as Al Faisaly, Saudi Cup winners, who incidentally were relegated while the Champions League was on a break, played Foolad Khuzestan, from the Akhwaz region of Iran.
The first half ended goalless, but in the second half, the Iranians scored through Sasan Ansari.
But the main game of the round of 16 saw Al Hilal face Shabab Al Ahly Dubai, in a clash that included ex-players, coaches and two great football organizations from the Gulf.
The match started equally, but then Al Hilal pushed the pedal to the floor.
Odion Ighalo, Jang Hyun-su and Luciano Vietto, who has been in the form of his life lately, made it 3-0.
Syrian star and ex-Al Hilal player Omar Khribin managed to pull one back, but it wasn’t enough. The champions will be in the quarter-finals.
On Tuesday, the quarterfinals draw determined that Al Shabab will face Al Duhail, while Foolad Khuzestan, that lost coach Javad Nekounam after the win for an unknown reason, will meet the reigning champions, Al Hilal.
The winners of both matches will meet in Sunday for the AFC Champions League semifinal.
🇸🇦Al-Hilal was too big for 🇦🇪Shabab Al-Ahli, and they won the match 3-1. Asia's champion qualified for the #ACL2022 final 8⃣ pic.twitter.com/kcRSpfWaBW
— BabaGol (@BabaGol_) February 20, 2023
An Algerian-Moroccan diplomatic battlefield
The political tension between Morocco and Algeria is reaching new heights.
The two countries, which lately are in constant dispute over relations with Israel, Western Sahara and common cultural characteristics are, yet again, clashing on the football field.
Wydad Casablanca travelled to play a CAF Champions League clash against JS Kabilye in Algiers this weekend.
Usually in Champions League matches, the flags of both teams' countries are presented together with the flag for the African confederation, CAF.
But this time, the Algerian organisers decided to take the Moroccan flag off the stands, which has again created political turmoil between the two countries.
Just last year tensions were stoked when Morocco withdrew from the 2022 edition of CHAN after being refused permission to land their aeroplane.
Wydad ended up losing the match 1-0, following a 87th minute goal by Badreddine Souyad. Not the start they hoped for in the Champions League.
🎥 HIGHLIGHTS:
— TotalEnergies CAFCL - TotalEnergies CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) February 18, 2023
Badreddine Souyad gifted @jsk_tweet 3️⃣ important points against @WACofficiel 🤯 #TotalEnergiesCAFCL | #JSKWAC | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/cT0L1eXzGQ
The West Bank awaits
The West Bank Premier League title race is reaching its boiling point with two teams sitting at the top of the table, with the same points (46) and goal difference (+28).
Hilal Al-Quds, and Jabel Mukaber, the leading Jerusalem clubs of the WBPL, have three matches left until the end of the season.
This weekend, Jabel Mukaber beat Shabab Al Khaleel 1-0, with goalkeeper Rami Hamadeh putting on a fantastic display between the posts against his former club. While Hilal Al-Quds easily beat Islami Qalqilya 3-0 to retain their spot at the top.
Jabel Mukaber has an easier draw until this season's final whistle, and the tension between these two sides from East Jerusalem is at its peak.
"It will go until the end", Hilal Al Quds' coach Ammar Salman told BabaGol. "We are fighting, we have a young squad, but we believe".
Edited by Alex Smith
