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10-man Al Shabab lose 4-1 at Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia

Al Shabab were on the receiving end of a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Al Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday; a team they had beaten 1-0 in Dubai less than a week ago. On a disappointing night for the UAE club, Luiz Alves was sent off for receiving two yellow cards and will miss their next game in the tournament against Lekhwiya later this month. Al Shabab now face a near-impossible task to qualify for the final 16 of the competition as they sit bottom of Group B with 3 points, having been overtaken by tonight’s opponents now on 4 points.

Al Shabab struggled to replicate their disciplined display from last week’s 1-0 win in the reverse fixture, conceding the first goal of the game in only the 16th minute. A free kick for Al Ettifaq was lofted in from the left and headed on by Ahmad Mubarak, falling to Saleh Bashir just inside the area, who arrowed a right-footed shot that somehow squirmed under the body of Al Shabab goalkeeper Salem Abdulla to give the home side a 1-0 lead. And it was he who was the far busier of the two shot-stoppers, with Al Shabab’s first-half efforts rarely finding the target but for a strike from Luiz Alves that forced a save. In the 43rd minute Salem Abdulla was again picking the ball out of his net, this time as Yahya Al Shehri doubled Al Ettifaq’s lead with a left-footed shot from Yousef Al Salem’s assist to send the teams into the half-time break at 2-0.

Al Shabab stirred at the beginning of the second half, getting themselves back in the game just six minutes after the restart. A cross from Luiz Alves on the right found Edgar Bruno at the back post, and the Brazilian leapt above his markers to net a header and give his side a lifeline at 2-1 in the 51st minute. Five  minutes later, however, and Al Shabab gave themselves more of an uphill task as Luiz Alves – provider of the goal – turned villain as he was sent off for his second bookable offence in the 56th minute, leaving the visitors to play over half an hour with 10 men. The numerical advantage allowed Al Ettifaq to get a foothold in the game again, and in the 70th minute Saleh Bashir struck once more to bag his brace. A long ball was headed on in the box and finished emphatically on the volley by the Saudi striker to give the home side a 3-1 lead and make it an even tougher task for Marcos Paqueta’s men to get anything from the game. Three minutes later Al Shabab tried to fight back but the Al Ettifaq goalkeeper Fayez Al Subaie made a fine double save to deny their chances in quick succession. Things went from bad to worse for the visitors as they were once again carved open at the back, this time with Yahya Al Shehri setting Ali Al Zaqan away down the right, who crossed in for Yousef Al Salem to complete a simple tap-in, making it 4-1 in the 80th minute. It was clear that the contest was over for the remainder of the game and Al Shabab dropped to last place in Group B at the full-time whistle.