Al-Ahli against Sundowns burst into life inside the opening minutes of the Intercontinental Cup. Two goals arrived in quick succession, one of them handed to the South Africans by clear defensive disarray from the Saudi side, before Al-Ahli hit straight back through an own goal that levelled things up.
Sundowns capitalise on Al-Ahli's lapse
Nuno Santos broke the deadlock for Sundowns in the 17th minute, meeting a cross that dropped deep into the penalty area and heading it past Edouard Mendy.
Blame lay with the Al-Ahli defence, who failed to deal with the ball inside their area. Valentine Atangana found himself out of position, unable to offer cover, and Santos had all the space he needed to finish.
That goal dragged one of Al-Ahli's most glaring recent problems back into focus: sloppy defensive organisation and slow reactions to opponents inside the box.
Al-Buraikan responds: Williams scores by mistake
Al-Ahli barely needed two minutes to reply. Firas Al-Buraikan pounced on a fine ball from the left, turned it goalwards, and watched it cannon off South African goalkeeper Ronwen Williams and into the net in the 19th minute.
The goal went down to Al-Ahli, but it owed everything to Williams. The ball struck him and rolled in as an own goal, restoring parity in an instant.
Here was the telling detail. The mistake that cost Al-Ahli the opening goal was no one-off. It was another chapter in a story that keeps repeating, whether covering inside the box or dealing with balls played into deeper areas.
Read also: Video: Support and attack: Al-Farraj erupts before the Al-Ahli and Sundowns battle
Al-Ahli must fix this fast. Leave the defensive organisation as it is and Sundowns will keep finding chances, especially given the pace of their runners and their knack for exploiting any gap that opens behind or between the Saudi defenders.
An early Sundowns goal, an own goal to bring Al-Ahli level, and this top clash was off to a fiery start. Now Pusic needs a quick answer to that defensive weakness, before a recurring error hands the tie to the African champions.
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