JEDDAH — Al Ittihad crashed out of the AFC Champions League Elite quarter-finals on Friday after a 1-0 defeat to Japanese side FC Machida Zelvia.
A 31st-minute strike from Tete Yengi, which took a decisive deflection off Fabinho, proved enough to send the J1 League club into the semi-finals and end Al Ittihad’s hopes of a third Asian crown.
Machida will now face either Buriram United or Shabab Al Ahli in the last four.
Backed by more than 16,000 fans at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Al Ittihad started brightly, with Moussa Diaby and Roger Fernandes both threatening early.
But Machida grew into the contest and took the lead when a long throw caused chaos inside the Al Ittihad penalty area, allowing Yengi’s effort to find the net via a deflection.
Head coach Sergio Conceição made attacking changes after halftime, with Steven Bergwijn nearly leveling moments after coming on.
Al Ittihad continued to push, striking the woodwork twice through Houssem Aouar and Youssef En-Nesyri, while goalkeeper Kosei Tani was kept busy throughout the second half.
The Saudi side thought they had found a late equalizer when Danilo Pereira headed home four minutes from time, but referee Ma Ning ruled the goal out for handball.
“We had to find solutions,” Conceição said after the match. “We made substitutions and did better. We were more dangerous and created more opportunities.
“Everything went well but we weren’t successful.”
The Al Ittihad coach also questioned the disallowed goal, saying: “Our players scored and I thought the goal was good and fair. We had a lot of opportunities. We were better, but at the end of the day that was the referee’s decision.”
Source: Saudi Gazette