Having once been managed by Diego Maradona, Al Wasl’s supporters well know the value of a cultured left foot.
They saw one of the finest current purveyors of the art up close and personal on an atmospheric night at Zabeel Stadium in their first home game of the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday.
Unfortunately for the UAE champions, it was to their cost, as Riyad Mahrez put on a masterclass to guide Al Ahli to a 2-0 win.
The result means the touring side from Saudi Arabia have now won their first two matches in the continent’s newly revamped top club competition.
Defeat for Al Wasl, by contrast, was a second in a matter of days, after they also lost out to their great domestic rivals, Al Ain, on Thursday in the UAE Pro League.
At the start of the second half against Al Ahli, the Waslawi – the home club’s supporters – unveiled a banner carrying Maradona’s image and a legend that read: “Diego is a legend, not a charitable act.”
They will never forget the trophyless but story-rich spell the Argentine great had in charge of the club a little over a decade ago.
As attached as he was to the Zabeel-based club, even the Argentine great would have appreciated the show Mahrez put on at his old haunt.
Not all of the most vivid stars that Al Ahli brought with them from Jeddah made it on to the field by the start. Roberto Firmino, the former Liverpool forward who is the club captain, was on the bench.
Still, there was plenty of stardust left over, with the likes of Franck Kessie and Ivan Toney in the away line up. And, like Firmino, it was another who has an English Premier League winners’ medal back at home who opened the scoring.
It took just three minutes for Mahrez to give the travelling support – as well as many neutral viewers, it might be safe to assume – what they wanted.
The Algerian winger was a multiple trophy winner with Leicester City and Manchester City before heading to Saudi last year. Happily, the silky touch of his left foot survived the move.
With the sides still getting the measure of each other, a straight ball down the middle was launched from the Ahli defence.
Mahrez found himself beyond the Al Wasl backline, centrally placed. He deftly controlled the long ball on his laces, then passed it into the corner of Khaled Al Senani’s goal.
Mahrez tormented the beleaguered home goalkeeper for the second, too. From a left-wing corner, he enticed Al Senani into wandering out to try to collect the cross.
Instead, it curved beyond the keeper’s reach, and he found himself stranded as Roger Ibanez, one of Al Ahli’s less heralded overseas-born players, soared to head the goal that doubled their advantage.
The home team looked bereft of ideas for how to respond. Milos Milojevic, Al Wasl’s manager, had tried to rally his troops after the loss against Al Ain by saying he did not believe in individual errors, and that any failures of his side fell at his door.
But they must have been testing his patience during their fitful first-half display. Even Fabio De Lima, for a decade now their most assured player, nearly gave away a penalty after some careless play having found himself unusually placed in the right-back channel.
Milojevic had said after the loss in the Garden City at the end of last week that some of his players were struggling for energy and were emotionally sapped after a string of big games.
He also pointed out that football has a short memory and sides are only as good as their last match. So, forget about last season’s domestic league and cup double, and consider the fact back-to-back losses have left them playing catch-up in the chase for glory this time around.
The Serbian coach said “mental endurance” is what players require to become serial – rather than one-off – title winners. As such, it will be intriguing to see how his side bounce back after a challenging four days.
