Al Duhail lost 2-3 to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr in the fourth round (Group E) of 2023-2024 AFC Champions League at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

Brazilian Anderson Talisca scored a hat-trick for Al Nassr, with the goals coming in the 27th, 37th and 65th minutes, while Philippe Coutinho got Al Duhail’s goals in the eighth and 80th-minute penalty.

Al Nassr are now leading the group with 12 points, while Al Duhail remain on one point.

The match started with Al Nassr pressing hard for an early goal and Talisca running the show upfront for the Saudi side, but Al Duhail’s defence was up to the ask to curtail all advances of the visitors.

Coutinho opened the scoring for Al Duhail in the eighth minute after outpacing Al Nassr’s Alex Telles to latch on to a swerving pass from Michael Olunga, who had won the ball in the final third, with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of goal.

With one goal down, Al Nassr continued to press forward in search of an equaliser and Talisca could have got them one in the 16th minute had his header from the centre of the box, off a cross from Telles, not gone high and wide to the left.

Olunga also came close to scoring in the 23rd minute as he tried to head the ball off a cross from the left, but his attempt was blocked.

Four minutes later, Talisca got Al Nassr’s equaliser. The attacking midfielder got the ball from outside the penalty box from Abdulrahman Ghareeb and he decided to shoot from a distance and his right-footed hit sensationally found the right botom corner past Zakaria to draw level for his team.

Talisca again registered his name on the scoresheet in the 37th minute to put his side in front. The 29-year-old was supplied a well-timed pass in an unmarked position right at the edge of Al Duhail’s 18-yard box by Senegal’s Sadio Mane and he wasted no time in blasting home a long-ranger to the bottom right corner of goalkeeper Salah Zakaria’s goal.

Al Duhail had a chance to draw level just before half-time when Olunga tried a cross from the left that was meant for Ismael Mohammad on the right, who had made a run behind the defence, but his header failed to find the target.

Al Duhail came out from the dugout for the second half with more grit and gumption and their standard of play had a tone of a team determined to come off with something spectacular, with Coutinho using all his experience to the advantage of The Red Knights with his legwork and accurate passes.

Much to the dismay of the home crowd, Al Nassr caught Al Duhail’s defence napping with a counter-attack in the 65th minute as Talisca got his hat-trick of the night from an  assist by Abdulrahman Ghareeb.

Al Duhail cut the deficit from the spot in the 80th minute, with Coutinho registering his brace after Al Nassr’s Marcelo Brozovic conceded a penalty following a hand ball in the penalty area in the 76th minute. Despite protests from the Saudi side, the penalty decision was sustained after a VAR check.

Al Duhail’s Khaled Mohammed received marching orders for a foul on Al Nassr’s Otavio.