UAE participation in AFC Champions League ends after Akram Afif sends Al Wasl crashing out

Milos Milojevic said he still believes Al Wasl can compete with the continent’s best sides despite seeing them dumped out of the AFC Champion League Elite by Al Sadd.

The UAE champions initially held a 2-1 lead on aggregate early in the last 16 second leg in Doha on Monday night, after an early goal for Fabio Da Lima.

Three goals in 11 minutes turned the tie around as Al Sadd, led by the outstanding Akram Afif, booked their place in the new finals event in Jeddah.

The results means the UAE will have no involvement in the quarter-finals. Al Ain endured a miserable defence of their continental title, and crashed out at the group stage.

Al Wasl at least made it out of the group. They did have moments of promise in their encounter with the two-time winners from Qatar.

They had enough chances to put the tie to bed in the first leg in Dubai a week earlier, and they were also the brighter side at the start of the second game.

But they allowed Al Sadd back into the game, and goals from Moustafa Tarek, Youcef Atal and the brilliant Afif sent them out.

“For 15 to 20 minutes we played good football and made a lot of problems for Al Sadd,” Milojevic said. “We scored one goal, that was deserved, and could have done better in some situations.

“I have to take responsibility because it is my job, but something changed in the players’ heads. They didn’t stick anymore to the gameplan.

“Then the game started to be as Al Sadd likes to play. They like to play five players up, five players down, with lots of transitions. They are good at it.

“They played a good 20 minutes, and finished the game because of that. After that, because of the individual quality they have, they played as much as they needed to advance.

“The players tried, but they faced the same kind of problems like we had in the Saudi games this season.”

On the same night, an Al Nassr side whose goals were scored by Jhon Duran and Cristiano Ronaldo went through against Esteghlal.

Fellow Saudi sides Al Ahli and Al Hilal are also looking to advance on Tuesday evening.

The disparity in investment between clubs around the Gulf region is vast, but Milojevic reckons his side can still compete with the biggest spending teams.

“I think that on a good day, with a good performance, we can face Al Sadd,” Milojevic said.

“They are a more expensive team, yes, but when I look at the game I see 11 players against 11 players. I respect Al Sadd. I never show disrespect to Al Sadd.

“They have Afif, Claudinho, [Rafa] Mujica, all these guys who play at a top, top level, who finish the game. For us, we had a great 15 minutes then were overconfident and forgot to do the basic things. If you don’t do the basic things, you are punished.

“I know where we are and where Al Sadd are. It was possible to go through. Unfortunately, they were better today, and we need to congratulate them.

“I always believe we can win any game. I we played against the national team of any team in the world, I would believe we can win. In 90 minutes anything can happen.”

Al Sadd have twice won the continent’s leading competition in the past, and Felix Sanchez, their coach, says they are looking forward to Jeddah after making it past Al Wasl.

“It was not easy for us.

“The players showed the capability and the level that was required. It was a good performance against a team that is very difficult to beat, so I have to congratulate the players and am looking forward to the next step.”