On its home soil and among its fans.. Sharjah bids farewell to the “Elite” AFC Champions League

Sharjah bid farewell to the AFC Elite Champions League, after losing to Nasaf of Uzbekistan, bottom of the standings, by two goals to one, during the match that brought the two teams together today, Monday, at Sharjah Stadium, in the eighth and final round of the group stage. Sharjah’s score froze at 8 points, while Nassaf raised its score to four points.

Sharjah, who seemed lost on the field, paid the price for the fatal mistakes it committed during the match, which caused this defeat against one of the weakest teams in the group.

Although Sharjah played the match with all of its main stars, it did not present a convincing technical level, and suffered a lot, especially in the first half, during which it appeared confused in the back line, in addition to the divergence of its lines and the lack of harmony between its players.

The Uzbek team was the best and most in control of the course of play during the first part of the first half, and threatened goalkeeper Adel Al Hosani with more than one attempt, before realizing its advantage by scoring the lead goal in the 30th minute, from a cross ball that was headed by player Bubir Abdel Khalikov, touching the hand of Sharjah defender Khaled Al Dhanhani and into the net.

The referee of the match canceled a goal for the Uzbek team in the 27th minute due to a violation.

Sharjah was able to adjust the score in the 80th minute through Caio Lucas from a penalty kick awarded by the referee after using the video assistant referee (VAR) technology.

But Al-Sharqawi’s joy did not last long, as Nassaf was able to score the second goal in the 87th minute through Diarbek, deciding the match in his favor.

At the beginning of the second half, Sharjah tried to return to the atmosphere of the match and adjust the result, but its attempts lacked seriousness, focus and the final touch.

Luan Pereira missed the chance to achieve a goal in the 69th minute with a powerful scissor shot.

Sharjah’s Portuguese coach, Jose Moraes, sought to save the situation, and pushed Othman Camara’s card, so that the team could adjust the result via a penalty kick, but Nassaf scored the winning goal in the fatal time, dashing Sharjah’s hopes of returning to the match.