Al Ahli's first football team faces a continental test on Monday against their opponent Al Sadd, in the main round of the 2026-2027 AFC Champions League Elite competition.
Al Ahli's Local Situation
The Al Ahli team is going through a difficult period locally, after losing 1-6 to Al Shabab in Matchday 12 of the Saudi Pro League. Despite this, Al Ahli has collected 7 points in the Asian Elite so far after the first 3 matches, with two wins and one draw.
Al Sadd's Situation
As for the home side Al Sadd, they are facing a difficult situation continentally, placing them under pressure, as they have collected only one point, after drawing with Al Qadsiah, in addition to two consecutive losses against Esteghlal and Al Hilal.
Lucescu's Experience
Romanian coach Razvan Lucescu leads Al Sadd, armed with extensive experience in Saudi pitches from his previous coaching of Al Hilal, so he knows his opponent Al Ahli well. In 7 previous encounters against Al Ahli, teams coached by Razvan Lucescu won only twice, lost 3 matches, and drew twice.
Historical Record
The Romanian's teams scored 9 goals and conceded the same number. Razvan knows the Gulf region well, having coached Al Arabi from 2012 to 2014, and also led Al Hilal from 2019 to 2021. Razvan Lucescu won the Qatar Stars Cup with Al Arabi in the 2012-2013 season, and with Al Hilal, he won the 2019 AFC Champions League, the Saudi Pro League in the 2019-2020 season, in addition to the Saudi King's Cup in 2020.
Previous Encounters
When he was coaching Al Arabi, he faced his rival Al Ahli twice in the Round of 16 of the 2013 AFC Champions League, with the first leg ending 1-1, before Al Ahli won the second leg 2-0. Razvan coached Al Hilal in 5 matches against Al Ahli, winning twice, losing twice, and drawing once.
Match Details
In the Round of 16 of the 2019 AFC Champions League, Al Hilal, under Razvan's leadership, beat Al Ahli 4-2, but lost the second leg 0-1, advancing to the quarter-finals. In the 2019-2020 season, Al Hilal with Razvan beat Al Ahli 3-1 in Matchday 11, and lost 1-2 in Matchday 26, while the Matchday 13 encounter in the 2020-2021 season ended in a goalless draw between the two teams.
Source: Arriyadiyah newspaper
Comments (0)