4 Out of 4 for Al Hilal as Al Wahda Extend Unbeaten Run

Saudi giants Al Hilal continued their perfect start in the AFC Champions League Elite West Zone, clinching their fourth straight win by defeating Al Gharafa (Qatar) 2-1 away from home. Meanwhile, Al Wahda (UAE) secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi, extending their own unbeaten streak to 26 matches across all competitions.

Al Hilal imposed their rhythm from the opening minutes, breaking the deadlock when João Cancelo delivered a pinpoint cross that Salem Al-Dawsari headed past goalkeeper Khalifa Babiker (9’).

The visitors doubled their advantage through Caio César, who unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box into the bottom corner (66’).

In stoppage time, Ayoub Mohammed salvaged a consolation goal for Al Gharafa after his shot deflected off the crossbar and into the net (90+8’).

With this victory, Al Hilal retained top spot in the group with a perfect 12 points, two ahead of Al Wahda.

In Qarshi, Al Wahda fought back from a goal down to claim a valuable 2-1 win over Nasaf.
The hosts took the lead through Bakhramov (42’), but the visitors equalized early in the second half when Favor Ugochukwu headed home from a Dušan Tadić free kick (52’).The Serbian playmaker turned provider again in the 89th minute, as his cross was headed on target by Mohammad Ghorbani, and although the goalkeeper parried it, Caio Canedo was quick to nod in the rebound for the winner.

Al Duhail Finally Victorious

Elsewhere, Al Duhail (Qatar) earned their first win of the campaign after two defeats and a draw, crushing Shabab Al Ahli (UAE) 4-1 and handing them their first loss.

Goals from Edmilson Junior (2’), Benjamin Bourigeaud (39’), Adel Boulbina (57’), and Luis Alberto (90+2’) sealed the result, while Bruno Cascardo (42’) scored for the visitors.

Before their win, Al Duhail had endured a difficult run in the AFC Champions League Elite West Zone. The Qatari side had previously lost 2-1 to Al Hilal in Riyadh and 3-1 to Al Wahda in Abu Dhabi, before managing a 2-2 draw with Al Ahli in Doha.

The scoreline might have been far more lopsided if not for the heroics of goalkeeper Hamad Al Maqbli, who pulled off several crucial saves — including a penalty stop from Polish striker Krzysztof Piątek — to limit the damage.

The result lifted Al Duhail to four points in sixth place, while Shabab Al Ahli slipped to fifth with seven points.

In Tabriz, Tractor (Iran) defeated Al Shorta (Iraq) 1-0, courtesy of Mehdi Torabi’s 26th-minute strike after a fluid passing move.

The win took Tractor to eight points, while Al Shorta remained bottom with just one point after their third defeat.