Al Sadd were upstaged 3-1 by hosts FC Nasaf of Uzbekistan in the second round of 2023-2024 AFC Champions League in Namangan on Monday.

The Wolves had begun the clash strongly and had some early chances but once FC Nasaf broke the deadlock, they excelled both in attack and defence to keep Al Sadd at bay.

Al Sadd did pull one back through a fine goal coming off an Akram Afif pinpoint long pass which was scored through a header by Boualem Khoukhi from the right in the 83rd minute, but it was too little too late.

FC Nasaf led 1-0 at half-time and their goals came from Sukhrob Nurulloyev (28th minute) and Azizbek Amonov (47th and 58th minutes).

Sharjah and Al Faisaly of Jordan are the other teams in Group B.

Al Sadd were hit back soon after they had launched a potential attack in the 25th minute when Musab Khader shot (off a Gonzalo Plata assist) from the right side and missed the top left corner.

FC Nasaf seized their first opportunity with Nurulloyev latching on to a defensive header of an Al Sadd defender and his left-footed shot found the bottom of the right corner.

The hosts doubled the lead soon at the start of the second session, with Azizbek Amonov’s shot from the centre of the box beating a diving goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham to the left.

Al Sadd tried hard to rally, but FC Nasaf sandbagged in a solid defence to deny many of their good strikes.

The fast pace of the game saw FC Nasaf get another chance when following a fast break and Amonov picked on an Oybek Bozorov pass to move in and put the ball over the goalkeeper’s head for his team’s third goal.

Al Sadd tried to retaliate, but an Afif shot from outside the box missed to the right. Later, a Khoukhi header from the centre missed the target again.

Despite FC Nasaf’s strong defence, Al Sadd produced a goal when Afif smartly sent in a long lob to Khoukhi, who moved from the right close to the goal to make a successful header.

In the 86th minute, Afif picked up a second yellow and had to leave the field.