JEDDAH: Al-Ahli started their defense of the AFC Champions League Elite title on Monday with a dramatic 4-2 win over Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi while Jeddah rivals Al-Ittihad slumped to a 2-1 loss at Al-Wahda of the UAE.
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The holders found themselves 2-0 down at the break thanks to two goals from Khusayin Norchaev.
Merih Demiral gave the ball away just after the half-hour and the striker made no mistake. Then, four minutes before the break, the 23-year-old ran on to a through ball and slotted past Edouard Mendy from the right side of the area.
Al-Ahli threw everything at the Central Asian visitors in the second half and were given a lifeline after 65 minutes. Abduvohid Nematov came out of his area to clear a pass over the top, missed and there was Enzo Millot to shoot into the empty net.
