Arabi brace rallies Duhail past UAE’s Al Wahda
abu dhabi — Morocco striker Youssef El Arabi scored a brace as Al Duhail came from behind to beat Al Wahda 3-2 in the AFC Champions League Group B match at Sheikh Zayed Sports City Stadium on Monday.
Al Wahda had the best of starts earning a penalty in the third minute for a foul on Mourad Batna. And Sebastian Tagliabue converted by firing the ball to the top right corner.
Al Duhail upped the tempo and threatened through South Korean Nam Tae-hee and striker Almoez Ali. Youssef Msakni and Karim Boudiaf came close to finding an equaliser but Al Wahda defenders held on.
Al Wahda replied through a fine header by Tagliabue and just before the break, Ismail Matar missed a chance through the left flank.
In 57 minutes, Al Duhail finally levelled through Youssef El Arabi, who netted following a fine pass from Msakni. Both Msakni and El Arabi continued to torment Al Wahda defence as Al Duhail began to dominate proceedings. And Al Duhail’s persistence paid off as Karim Boudiaf scored in 75 minutes.
Al Wahda reacted through attempts from Batna and Ahmed Al Akberi but both missed from close range. In 80 minutes, Al Duhail made it 3-1 as El Arabi headed from Sultan Al Brake’s cross.
In dying minutes, Al Wahda pushed forward and got rewarded with another penalty. Brake was found guilty of a foul on Tagliabue and Batna converted by placing into the bottom right corner.
With the result, Al Wahda remain without points and at bottom of the group while Al Duhail move top with six points.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com