Sardar Azmoun struck both goals as Shabab Al Ahli picked up a superb away win at Al Ittihad in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday night.
The victory took the UAE club to a perfect six points from six, while Saudi Pro League Al Ittihad have just a single point after opening their campaign with a draw against Al Shamal SC of Qatar last month.
Backed by a full house in Jeddah, the home side started positively with Ahmed Al Julaydan forcing Matheus Donelli into a save from a tight angle in the sixth minute.
Shabab Al Ahli, however, struck in the next phase of play when Guilherme Bala powered down the left before teeing up the unmarked Azmoun to slot home.
Al Ittihad looked for an immediate response, with Steven Bergwijn testing Donelli from distance in the 13th minute, but the visitors doubled their advantage three minutes later.
Reza Ghandipour, who had only just replaced the injured Bala, released Azmoun with a through ball and the forward outpaced his markers before converting from a tight angle.
“We conceded two goals because of easy mistakes, which made the task difficult afterwards,” said Al Ittihad coach Jens Wissing.
“My job as a coach is to work with the players. We were better in the second half and we reached the opponent's goal, but we were not successful.”
He added: “We played with three forwards because we had more crosses, and it was possible to make use of one of the crosses. We did not play the game well. We had many chances and we could have been better.”
Watkins on target for Al Hilal
Elsewhere, Al Hilal recorded their second successive victory after defeating Al Sadd 2-0.
Ollie Watkins put Saudi Pro League leaders Hilal ahead in the first half before a Ruben Neves spot-kick confirmed the points as Qatar’s Al Sadd suffered a second consecutive defeat.
“I am happy with the players' performance,” said Hilal boss Simone Inzaghi. “We produced a big performance and controlled most of the game, and I saw a wonderful display from the team.”
The Italian also praised Gabriel Martinelli after the former Arsenal man gave the Al Sadd defence a difficult evening.
“He is a big player and we are lucky to have him with us,” added Inzaghi. “He always proves his high quality and his ability to serve the team and benefit it in more than one different position.”
