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Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia beat Al Wahda to top the standings

Al Ittihad of Saudi Arabia raised their tally to 9 points to stay on top of group 1 following their thrilling 3-0 victory over hosts Al Wahda in their third round of AFC Champions League match played this evening at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The losers are sitting at the bottom of the table with two points on goal difference after FC Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan and Piroozi of Iran ended their today's tie with a goalless draw to collect two points each. Bunyodkor are in second position followed by Piroozi in third place.

           The host team came close to take the lead when they created a golden opportunity but the ball rebounded off the visitors' defence many times before being cleared away only four minutes from the start. Their striker Mohammad Al Shehhy squandered another sitter two minutes later when he received the ball inside the box. He waited for some seconds before sending a weak volley that was easily blocked by a defender. Al Wahda played an attacking football putting more pressure on their opponents defence line but all their efforts were in vain. The visitors were lucky enough to see Brazilian player Magrao's perfect header rebounded off the upright.

           Al Wahda continued their attempts through Al Shehhy on the right flank and Mahmoud Khamis on the opposite side, while their rivals Al Ittihad failed to build a single attack. Against the run of play, the visitors were the first to find the back of the net when Paulo Alves George received a lovely pass inside the box, stepped forward before sending a cross ball to his teammate  Abdul Malik Ziaya who did not hesitate to drive it home giving his side a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute. Al Wahda performance was a little bit down after conceding the first goal and despite of that, their Brazilian player Hugo was unhappy to see his severe shot rebounded off the goalkeeper's hands before being cleared away by a defender. Manaf Abu Shughair made it 2-0 in the last minute of the first session with a long-range volley that deflected by a defender to go straight into the net.

           Al Wahda's coach Josef Hickersberger made his first change when he brought in Fernando Bayano to replace midfielder Khalid Jalal after the break. Al Ittihad looked the better side from the start of the second half when they controlled the game creating a handful of chances. At the same time they kept an open eye on their hosts' strikers spoiling all their attempts. Paulo Alves George had almost made it 3-0, but his rocket-like shot missed the target in the 62nd minute. Ahmad Hadid was fielded in to replace his injured colleague Abdul Malik Ziaya in the 65th minute. Al Wahda continued their raids and Hugo came close to reduce the deficit but his shot deflected off the cross bar in the 70th minute. The hosts' coach tried to intensify his attacking force when the pulled off defender Hayder Allo Ali and brought in striker Saeed Al Khatheri. The visitors' coach also made his second substitution bringing in Naef Hazazi to replace Mohammad Al Rashed in the 70th minute. The Saudi side proved their superiority over their rivals after demonstrating a brilliant display which resulted in the third goal. Paulo Alves George completed the rout off a stand ball three minutes to time to end the game with a 3-0 victory for his side.