Shabab Al-Ahli needed extra time to defeat Thailand’s Buriram United 3-2 in Jeddah on Saturday as Renan Victor’s 93rd-minute strike ensured the Emirati side completed the semifinal line-up of the Asian Champions League Elite.
Paulo Sousa’s team will take on Japan’s Machida Zelvia on Tuesday for a place in the final with defending champions Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia due to meet Vissel Kobe, also from Japan, on Monday.
Victor’s winner came after Shabab Al-Ahli had thrown away a two-goal lead given to them by a Peter Zulj own goal and Saeid Ezatolahi’s header four minutes into the second half.
Guilherme Bissoli’s 64th-minute penalty halved the deficit before Zulj hit a 70th-minute equaliser to take the game into extra time.
“In this kind of competition we know all the difficulties we will face on the field and even though we were leading 2-0 we knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Victor.
“Of course, we didn’t want to concede those two goals but we made up for what happened and we turned around.”
Shabab Al-Ahli, the club from Dubai, went ahead when Federico Cartabia’s corner was met by Igor Gomes as he outjumped Neil Etheridge and the Brazilian defender’s header came back off the post to cross the line via Zulj’s shoulder.
Another Cartabia corner unlocked the Buriram defence for a second time four minutes after the restart, the set piece flicked on by Victor and Ezatolahi’s diving effort beating Etheridge.
Ezatolahi’s handball gave Guilherme Bissoli the opportunity to pull one back from the penalty spot in the 64th minute and the Brazilian converted.
The Thai champions levelled six minutes later as Zulj made amends for his own goal, outmuscling Cartabia to win the ball and steer his left-foot finish into the bottom corner from outside the area.
But Buriram’s positive work was undone three minutes into extra time when a defensive mix-up presented Renan with the opportunity to beat Etheridge from close range and the centre back gladly accepted.
Source: Khaleej Times