Al Qadsiah make winning AFC Champions League Elite debut against Al Wasl

Al Qadsiah began their first AFC Champions League Elite campaign with a historic 2-1 victory over Al Wasl at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Stadium on Monday.

The Saudi Arabian side secured all three points in the opening round of the league phase after goals from Julian Quinones and Mateo Retegui. Leandro Spadacio scored a late consolation for the visitors, but Al Qadsiah held on to claim a landmark result.

The match attracted 7,013 supporters to Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Stadium, according to Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, as Brendan Rodgers’ team marked their continental debut with victory.

Al Qadsiah started with Casteels, Jihad, Nacho, Gaston, Al-Shamat, Weigl, Turki, Reijnders, Musab, Al-Qahtani and Julian Quinones.

Al Wasl, managed by Rui Vitoria, named Horkas, Abdulrahman Amer, Silva, Bouftini, Malheiro, Bubula, Sidibe, Palacios, Jimenez, Serginho and Mehdi Taremi in their starting line-up.

The hosts broke the deadlock 12 minutes into the second half. Christopher Bonsu Baah delivered a precise cross into the penalty area, where Quinones rose to head the ball past goalkeeper Dinko Horkas in the 57th minute.

That goal gave Quinones a place in Al Qadsiah’s history as the scorer of the club’s first goal in the AFC Champions League Elite.

Al Qadsiah extended their advantage just four minutes later. Retegui received a pass from team-mate Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat before finishing into the Al Wasl net to put the Saudi club 2-0 ahead.

The UAE visitors attempted to respond during the closing stages and eventually found a way through in the sixth minute of added time. Spadacio converted Pedro Malheiro’s pass to reduce the deficit and give Al Wasl hope of a late comeback.

Al Qadsiah, however, protected their lead until the final whistle to complete a memorable first appearance in the competition.

Each team will play eight matches during the AFC Champions League Elite league phase. The top eight clubs from each region will progress to the last 16.

The knockout stages will be completed in Saudi Arabia, with the participating teams aiming to advance as far as possible in this season’s tournament.