Al-Ittihad crush Al-Gharafa and ignite the qualification race in the AFC Elite Champions League

Al Ittihad delivered a dominant performance as they thrashed Qatari side Al Gharafa 7-0 on Tuesday evening at Al Inmaa Stadium in King Abdullah Sports City, in the seventh round of the AFC Champions League Elite.Al Ittihad started the match with Predrag Rajkovic in goal, alongside Muhannad Al Shanqeeti, Danilo Pereira, Hassan Kadesh, Mario Mitaj, Fabinho, Mohamedou Dumbia, Houssem Aouar, Moussa Diaby, Youssef En-Nesyri, and Roger Fernandes.The hosts wasted no time, as Youssef En-Nesyri opened the scoring in the third minute after meeting a precise cross from Al Shanqeeti inside the box.Houssem Aouar doubled the lead in the 20th minute, while a goal from Roger Fernandes was ruled out in the 30th minute following a VAR review for offside.Al Ittihad continued their dominance in the second half, with Roger Fernandes scoring the third goal in the 49th minute, before Danilo Pereira added the fourth just two minutes later, assisted by Aouar.Aouar then netted the fifth goal in the 58th minute, followed by Roger Fernandes who made it six in the 62nd minute.Houssem Aouar completed the scoring with his third goal of the night in the 79th minute, sealing a comprehensive victory that lifted Al Ittihad to 12 points in sixth place, while Al Gharafa remained tenth with 6 points.