Sepahan 1 Al Ahli 2
SepahanAl Ahli Man of the match Ahmed Mahmoud (Al Ahli)
Where Al Ain and Al Jazira had blazed a trail before them, Al Ahli swiftly followed suit.
The Dubai club, almost unrivalled this season in UAE football, have struggled for superiority on foreign soil, but departed Round 3 of the Asian Champions League group stages with a vital victory Wednesday night and a share of top spot in their pool.
Compatriots Al Ain and Jazira had secured the summit in their respective groups with successes 24 hours earlier and Ahli were not to be outdone against Sepahan in Iran, albeit they arrived at their present status in stunning fashion.
Having taken the lead at the Foolad Shahr Stadium through Ahmed Khalil’s first-half thunderbolt, Cosmin Olaroiu’s men appeared poised for yet another draw when Sergio van Dijk struck what seemed a hammer blow 16 minutes from time.
But as the hosts poured forward in search of a winner, Ahli delivered a knockout of their own deep into injury-time, substitute Ismail Al Hammadi finishing a superb counter-attack with a perfectly placed shot high into the home goal.
With it, Ahli registered their first away triumph in the Champions League in 14 attempts and kept alive aspirations of progressing beyond their Group D. It is a clogged table – Al Sadd’s draw with Al Hilal means three points separate the quartet – but the manner of the win will give the UAE club fresh vigour.
That much is needed should their unlikely quest for four trophies continue; Sepahan were Ahli’s third fixture in a sequence that sees them play 13 times in seven weeks.
Yet the Arabian Gulf League leaders have plenty of momentum to guide them through the closing few months and, when they likely look back upon its conclusion with titles in the cabinet, this may be deemed the spark for a remarkable run.
Sepahan might sit fifth in the Iranian Pro League but they always represent formidable opponents at this level. They have been beaten only once in 18 previous Champions League ties at home.
How they must not have expected it, then, when Khalil dispatched a missile from 35 yards to gift the visitors an advantage. The Emirati, typically consigned to the Ahli bench, made the most of a rare start to remind why he was not long ago considered the UAE’s great hope.
Van Dijk’s 74th-minute leveller threatened to spoil Ahli’s party only for Al Hammadi to latch on to Grafite’s lay-off moments before the final whistle and lift his shot past Rahman Ahmadi, the flat-footed Sepahan goalkeeper.
It sparked wild celebrations among the Ahli contingent, who would have been determined to join Al Ain and Jazira on their perch during these heady times for UAE representatives in Asia.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
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Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
