Al-Ittihad Regains Form with Second Straight Win over Sharjah in the AFC Champions League

Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia reaffirmed their return to form and showed they are back on the right track with a second consecutive victory, defeating UAE side Sharjah 3-0 in the closing match of Matchday 4 of the unified West Zone group stage in the AFC Champions League Elite.

Dutch winger Steven Berghuis (8’), French striker Karim Benzema (66’), and Portuguese substitute Roger (90+4’) scored the goals to lift the Saudi Pro League champions to six points and move them up to sixth place, while Sharjah slipped to eighth with four points.

Al-Ittihad had started their continental campaign with two straight defeats — against Al-Wahda (1-2) and Shabab Al-Ahli (0-1) — which led to the dismissal of French coach Laurent Blanc and the appointment of Portuguese manager Sérgio Conceição. Since then, the team has flourished, following up their 4-1 win over Al-Shorta last week with another commanding performance.

Sharjah, on the other hand, suffered back-to-back defeats, including a heavy 5-0 home loss to Tractor (Iran) in the previous round.

The match began with Al-Ittihad pressing high, and they were rewarded early when Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti sent in a pinpoint cross that Berghuis met with a header deflecting off defender Khaled Al-Tanhani and into the net past goalkeeper Adel Al-Hosani (8’).

The Saudi side continued to create dangerous opportunities, notably when Mohamed Doumbia slipped a through ball to Moussa Diaby, who dribbled past Al-Hosani but fired into the side netting (30’).

Moments later, N’Golo Kanté whipped in a low cross that nearly resulted in an own goal from Majid Rashid, but Al-Hosani reacted quickly to clear the danger (38’).

Sharjah finally tested Al-Ittihad goalkeeper Predrag Rajković, who made an excellent double save — first parrying a fierce strike from Ousmane Camara, then blocking the rebound from Guilherme Piero (52’).

Al-Ittihad doubled their lead when Benzema calmly slotted home from close range after a precise pass from Diaby (66’), marking his first goal of the tournament.

In stoppage time, substitute Roger sealed the victory with a powerful header from Ahmed Al-Ghamdi’s cross (90+4’), capping off a dominant performance for Al-Ittihad.