News Center

Al Shabab’s unbeaten run ended by Lekhwiya in a 2-1 loss

It took a trip to Qatar to bring Al Shabab’s impressive unbeaten run to an end, as Marcos Paqueta’s men succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Lekhwiya in their opening Group B match of the AFC Champions League, having initially gone ahead in the tricky away fixture at the Lekhwiya Sports Stadium in Doha. 

Al Shabab got off to a dream start, taking the lead after just 11 minutes when Lekhwiya captain Madjid Bougherra missed his clearance from an Al Shabab free kick. Baba Malik in the Lekhwiya goal parried the ball but it fell right at the feet of Edgar Da Silva, who converted a simple tap-in to put his side 1-0 up.

However, Al Shabab’s lead didn’t last long as the home team hit back with an equalizer just 9 minutes later. The productive Issiar Dia got a good cross into the box and the onrushing Sebastian Soria got on the end of it, finishing with his right foot to level the scores at 1-1 in the 20th minute. Less than a quarter of an hour later, Lekhwiya came from behind to take the lead in the game as Youssef Msakni’s free kick evaded everyone and hit the inside of the far post before going in to make it 2-1 to the home side in the 33rd minute. Just before the break, Al Shabab were awarded a free kick in a promising area as Sami Anbar was fouled, but Brazilian Ciel was not able to beat the Lekhwiya wall with his effort and Al Shabab retreated to the dressing room trailing 2-1 at half time.

Paqueta made a half time substitution, replacing Esam Dhahi with Manei Mohamed Ali, but it was Lekhwiya who registered their first shot on target within a minute of the restart as they looked to seal their victory. The 53rd minute saw a wonderful opportunity for Al Shabab to equalize after some fine interplay in attack by Ciel, Luiz Da Silva and Sami Anbar, but Edgar was left embarrassed with his head in his hands as he blazed his shot over the bar from just yards out. As the second half progressed Al Shabab struggled to carve out many more scoring chances, and Lekhwiya looked the more likely to add to their tally, but in the closing stages the UAE side rallied for a final push to try and get something from the game. In the 89th minute substitute Essa Obaid spurned Al Shabab’s last opportunity to equalise as he scuffed his shot and dragged it just wide of the far post, and the visitors were left to rue their missed chances as the game finished in a 2-1 victory for Lekhwiya.