Riyad Mahrez scored a dramatic 117th-minute free-kick to propel titleholders Al-Ahli into the Asian Champions League Elite quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Qatar's Al-Duhail. The Algerian star's decisive goal came after a tightly contested match where Al-Duhail's goalkeeper Salah Zakaria had saved a penalty from Ivan Toney.
"It was a difficult game," Mahrez admitted, "but at the end we made it on a free kick and we're happy to go through."
Meanwhile, four-time winners Al-Hilal were eliminated from the tournament after a thrilling 3-3 draw against Al-Sadd, ultimately losing 4-2 in a penalty shootout. Despite goals from Sergey Milinkovic-Savic, Salem Al-Dawsari, and Marcos Leonardo, Al-Hilal could not overcome Al-Sadd's resilient fightback, which included crucial goals from Claudinho, Rafa Mujica, and Roberto Firmino.
The shootout saw Al-Hilal's downfall with key misses from Roberto Firmino and Karim Benzema, sealing their exit. Al-Sadd advances to face Vissel Kobe in the next round.