Al Sadd play out 2-2 draw against Pakhtakor

Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Captain Xavi Hernandez scored a double but newly-crowned Qatar Stars League champions Al Sadd twice let their lead slip to play out a 2-2 draw against Pakhtakor in a Champions League Group D match in Tashkent on Tuesday.

The result helped Pakhtakor remain on top of the group with five points while Sadd are second on four.

Both sides made their attacking intents clear from the start and Pakhtakor’s Jaloliddin Masharipov tested the goalkeeper from distance just 90 seconds into the match.

Al Sadd’s first sight of goal came quickly after and it was decisive as Baghdad Bounedjah supplied a low cross for Xavi who curled it from the edge of the box into the top corner to open the scoring for the visitors in the sixth minute.

Within three minutes, Pakhtakor responded in spectacular fashion as Khojiakbar Alijonov pounced on a poor defensive clearance to unleash a thunderous drive that nestled in the top corner of Mesha Aissa’s goal.

Goals kept raining at the Pakhtakor Central Stadium and it was again Xavi who found the back of the net. The Spanish midfielder curled-in a perfect free-kick from 25 yards that beat goalkeeper Sanjar Kuvvatov to restore the Qataris’ lead in the 16th minute.

Pakhtakor were again able to claw back the margin before the half-time break. Masharipov crossed for Dragan Ceran who directed his header to the far post past Aissa to make it 2-2.

The hosts, propelled by a loud crowd, dominated possession in the second half, while Al Sadd looked to hit on the counter.

Bounedjah thought he had scored his second goal of the 2019 AFC Champions League 15 minutes after the restart when his header connected perfectly with Akram Afif’s cross from a corner kick, but the Algerian’s effort missed by a whisker.

Following a quick exchange of passes down the right flank, the ball was fed to Sardor Sobirkhodjaev who tried to drive it in first-time from the edge of the box, but his ball did not dip fast enough and landed on the roof the goal.

Despite the two teams’ best efforts, there were no goals in the second 45 minutes and the spoils were shared ahead of the reverse fixture in two weeks’ time at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.