DUBAI — Modibo Maiga scored on his AFC Champions League debut as Saudi champion Al-Nasr edged Uzbekistan’s Bunyodkor 1-0 in their second Group B fixture Tuesday.
The former West Ham United forward, who joined Nasr last summer, netted in the 35th minute with what proved to be the game’s only goal at Bunyodkor Stadium.
Bunyodkor did, though, nearly score a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time as its goalkeeper, Murotjon Zukhurov, hit the crossbar after coming up for a corner.
"Unlike our first meeting in Riyadh last week where we allowed Bunyodkor the ball, we controlled the ball and thereby the game and this brought us victory," said Nasr coach Raul Caneda.
"Our plans worked well in the first half but not as well in the second half as Bunyodkor tried to play attacking football and we were forced to play on the counter with both sides creating lots of chances.
"Bunyodkor is a strong club so we had to play with all our effort to defeat them."
Temurkhuja Abdukholikov’s penalty 10 minutes from time rescued a point for Lokomotiv after Sulley Muntari’s first-half thunderbolt had looked set to secure victory for Al Ittihad in Group A of the AFC Champions League on Tuesday.
The Ghanaian World Cup star’s 14th minute effort gave Lokomotiv goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov little chance and seemed set to seal the Saudi side’s first win of the 2016 campaign, only for Abdukholikov to convert from the spot in the 80th minute.
“Our players were tired tonight because of the big match they played against Al Hilal and they missed several scoring chances,” said Al Ittihad coach Victor Piturca. “We gave our best tonight and opened the scoring but we failed to hold on to our lead.
“Lokomotiv are one of the strong teams in the group and the result is disappointing for us. We will give our best in the next matches because it is important to qualify to the knockout stage of the competition and hopefully we can improve in the next matches.”
The result was the second time the teams had shared the points in a week after Lokomotiv and Al Ittihad had played out a 1-1 draw in Tashkent on Matchday 1.
Muntari gave Al Ittihad the best start imaginable as the former AC Milan midfielder capitalised on Lokomotiv’s inability to clear Ahmed Asiri’s corner, sending a left-foot drive into the top corner at unstoppable pace.
The goal was a rare moment of quality in a disappointing first half, but the second period saw the home side pick up the pace, with Saudi Arabia under 23 international Abdulfattah Asiri to the fore.
The 21-year-old caused panic in the Lokomotiv defence four minutes after the restart when he surged through on goal only to send his shot wide of the target.
Earlier in the day in Seoul, Brazilian goal-machine Adriano made it seven goals in just two AFC Champions League games as FC Seoul destroyed Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-1 to stay top of Group F.
Adriano, who smashed four in last week's 6-0 demolition of Buriram United, plundered another hat trick as the Korean FA Cup-holder roared back from a goal down.
After Kazuhiko Chiba's opener for Hiroshima, Kim Won-Sik equalized just after the half-hour, before Adriano stole the show with his treble in 20 second-half minutes.
The Brazilian put Seoul ahead in the 49th minute when he let a free-kick drop over his shoulder and steered home a delicate volley.
He showed his predatory instincts with a determined run and near-post finish on 55 minutes, and completed his hat trick after another flowing team move in the 69th.
After a ball across the box from Spanish defender Osmar Barba, Sin Jin-Ho's backheel found the on-rushing Adriano and the free-scoring forward swept home Seoul's fourth.
Adriano remained a danger in the final minutes and ex-Arsenal forward Park Chu-Young also came close with a free-kick which flashed just wide.
After two games, FC Seoul tops the nascent Group F on goal difference ahead of China's Shandong Luneng, which beat Thai outfit Buriram 3-0.
Brazilians Diego Tardelli and Jucilei put Shandong 2-0 up before Chinese defender Zhao Mingjian curled home a stunning strike with the outside of his boot on 86 minutes.
In other matches Jiangsu Suning of China beat Jeonbuk Motors of South Korea 3-2; Zob Ahan of Iran and Lekhwiya of Qatar played a goalless draw; and Al-Nasr of UAE edged Sepahan of Iran 1-0.
