Benzema scores twice but Al-Ittihad loses 4-2 to Al-Duhail in Asian Champions League

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Karim Benzema scored twice but Al-Ittihad lost 4-2 to Al-Duhail of Qatar in the Asian Champions League Elite on Monday.

It was the Saudi Arabian champion’s third loss in five games in the continental competition. The top eight from the 12-team western zone group stage — the first round of the tournament is split into geographic halves — advance to the knockout phase.

Algerian forward Adil Boulbina put Al-Duhail in control with a hat trick — scoring twice in the first half and adding a third seven minutes after the restart.

Polish forward Krzysztof Piatek made it 4-0 with 16 minutes remaining, before Benzema struck twice for the two-time champion.

Ittihad’s Jeddah rival Al-Ahli lost 1-0 at home to Al-Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates.

Ousmane Camara put Sharjah ahead with just nine minutes remaining. Al-Ahli, the defending champion, thought it had rescued a point in the 90th minute, but Ziyad Al-Johani’s would-be goal was ruled out for offside.

Earlier, Tractor of Iran continued its solid campaign with a 1-0 win at Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi to move into second behind Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal. Al-Ahli Dubai defeated Qatar’s Al-Gharafa 2-0.

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