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Bahrain's Riffa suffered a tough 0-3 loss to Al Nasr of the UAE last night in their opening match of the 2026-27 Gulf Club Champions League.
Riffa conceded twice in the second half in their Group B away clash and rarely threatened the hosts who were dominant at Dubai’s Al Maktoum Stadium.
Nasr opened their account in the 30th minute when Argentinian Nazareno Mierez guided the ball home off an unselfish cross from the left supplied by Guinean teammate Abdoulaye Toure.
Later, in the very first minute of the second half, Nasr doubled their advantage when Colombian Kevin Agudelo headed in from close range, with Toure once again delivering the assist – this time from distance, also on the left.
Nasr then made it 3-0 in the 63rd minute through Australian Ajdin Hrustic sent in a darting header off a rebound after a Mierez effort bounced off the crossbar.
Riffa are Bahrain’s lone side competing amongst the 12 participating clubs in this season’s Gulf Club Champions League.
In yesterday’s other divisional clash, Qatar SC of Qatar and Al Zawraa of Iraq played to a 1-1 stalemate at Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.
Riffa will be looking to bounce back when they resume their tournament campaign on October 27 at home against Qatar.
Group A features Neom SC from Saudi Arabia, Al Duhail SC from Qatar, Al Shabab SC from Oman, and Shaab Hadramaut SC from Yemen; while Group C is composed of Al Ettifaq SC of Saudi, Ajman SC of the UAE, Erbil SC from Iraq, and Kazma SC from Kuwait.
Following the preliminaries, which comprises home-and-away fixtures, the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, together with the two best third-placed sides, with all ties to be contested over two legs.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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