Sardar Azmoun double fires Shabab Al Ahli to victory at Al Ittihad, Al Hilal win at Al Sadd

Sardar Azmoun scored two goals to help Shabab Al Ahli secure a thrilling away victory against Al Ittihad in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday night. The win gave the UAE club a perfect six points from six, while Al Ittihad remained at a single point after their opening match ended in a draw against Al Shamal SC from Qatar. With a packed crowd in Jeddah, Al Ittihad began strongly, but Shabab Al Ahli took the lead early on when Guilherme Bala played a one-two with Azmoun before the forward slipped in to score.

Al Ittihad attempted to equalize, with Steven Bergwijn missing an opportunity from distance in the 13th minute. However, Shabab Al Ahli sealed their win three minutes later when Reza Ghandipour delivered a through ball to Azmoun, who calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper. "We conceded two goals because of easy mistakes, which made the task difficult afterwards," said Al Ittihad coach Jens Wissing.

"My job as a coach is to work with the players. We were better in the second half and we reached the opponent's goal, but we were not successful." Al Hilal also continued their winning run by defeating Al Sadd 2-0. Ollie Watkins put the Saudi Pro League leaders ahead in the first half, and Ruben Neves sealed the match with a penalty.

"I am happy with the players' performance," said Hilal boss Simone Inzaghi. "We produced a big performance and controlled most of the game, and I saw a wonderful display from the team." Inzaghi also praised Gabriel Martinelli after the former Arsenal player gave Al Sadd defenders a tough time.