On August 23rd, 11:20 am BST, the AFC Champions League playoffs saw a marquee match as Riyadh Victory hosted Dubai Young Nationals. Although Riyadh Victory won the title before the start of the new season, he was in trouble in the league. In the first round of the league, Riyadh Victory suffered a loss of 3 points in their partnership in Dammam.Crowe was absent in that match. Though Crowe performed well in the second round of the league, Lija lost and fell in front of Brydai's cooperation. In addition, Ljubljana won at home, which was shameful. After only 4 days of rest, Lija won the AFC Champions League play-offs. The opponents were youngsters from Dubai. I didn't expect to win.
Dubai's youngsters knocked on the door from the start, creating chances on the counter-attack and scoring, but the offside goal was ruled out. It was a reminder of Leah's victory to be wary of counter-attacks from the opposition while pressing the attack. The referee then ignored Crowe when he went down in the box. Talisker recorded his first as he broke through the Dubai Youngsters' goal with a header. However, Dubai Youngsters soon equalized as Daboul helped Ghassani score. Dubai Youngsters don't seem to be a soft touch.
Crowe was a bit frustrated. He took a reverse shot in the box, ignoring his opponent's arm, and then the referee was knocked down in the box. The Chinese referee, Fu Ming, has angered Crowe, who is furious, but there's nothing he can do about it. The score at half time was 1-1. Riyadh Victory had 67% possession in the first half, 3 shots, 1 shot on goal and 1 goal. Although Dubai Youngsters had low possession, they also took chances to score.
The second half changed hands and the Dubai youngsters scored again, with Ghassani scoring single-handedly to put Riyadh on the back foot again. Riyadh Victory had to attack frantically. Konan missed a chance to equalize when his long range shot was denied by the post. Time was running out. In the 88th minute, the savior of Leah's victory appeared when Ghanem headed in the equalizer! The goal was a huge boost to morale. In extra time, Riyadh won by two consecutive goals. First, Talisker scored with a header, then Brozovic scored from distance. In the end, Riyadh knocked out Dubai Youngsters with a 4-2 comeback to reach the second card super official of the AFC Champions League.
