When Space Becomes a Trap: Al-Duhail Tees Off on Al-Ittihad in AFC Champions League
24 November 2025
Al-Ittihad Jeddah fell into the trap of Qatar’s Al-Duhail, losing 2-4 in the match between the two sides on Monday evening, in the fifth round of the Elite AFC Champions League.
With this result, the "Al-Ameed" tally stalled at 6 points in seventh place in West Asia Group standings, while the Qatari side reached seven points and climbed to sixth.
There were many technical and tactical factors that led to Ittihad's defeat tonight, topped by the Portuguese coach Sérgio Conceição's failure to read the match's changes and deal with them properly.
A Flawed Approach
Coach Conceição's choice to rely on an advanced defense while trying to possess in the opponent's half was a big risk in a game that demanded caution.
The team was not tactically or physically prepared to implement this approach; high pressing demands a disciplined unit able to spring back quickly, which was missing.
Conceição stubbornly built from the back despite Al-Duhail's smart pressure, causing costly ball losses that let the opponent mount organized attacks.
The biggest tactical error was dropping Mohamed Doumbia from the starting lineup, the only player who could bring balance in midfield.
This late change exposed the coach's poor reading of the match and his failure to understand the opponent's nature or his team's needs on the pitch.
Disjointed Lines
Ittihad appeared disjointed, with no link between its lines. The distance between defense and midfield was wide, and the midfield failed to apply any pressure nor recover the ball.
Every lost ball turned directly into a counterattack at the Ittihad goalkeeper, Predrag Raiković, without a single teammate in position to stop it. The midfield offered little defensive protection, did not help the attack build, while the forward line remained isolated amid a lack of organization and proper progression.
This widening gap between lines made the team look as if it were playing from long distances, the worst environment for a side given its current physical condition.
Spaces and Physical Decline
The clearest scene of the night was the spaces behind Ittihad's defense—vast gaps that allowed Al-Duhail to move, pass, and surge toward goal on each counterattack.
On the other hand, Al-Duhail players faced little real pressure during transitions, moving freely as if in a training session, not a continental match against a prestigious opponent.
Adel Bolbine was particularly the most dangerous, exploiting those spaces with speed and vertical movement, scoring a hat-trick with relative ease.
His runs consistently found space between the center-backs and behind the full-backs, and with poor monitoring and weak positioning, every ball in behind the defense became a likely goal chance.
The team looked drained, losing most duels and failing to execute proper defensive transitions, while Al-Duhail dominated in fitness and pressing, and the Al-Ameed relied on sporadic individual attempts without any cohesive organization.
Notably, Conceição did not intervene to alter the pattern despite the evident flaws; he kept the team in the same mode as if waiting for the match to end rather than adapting in time, a stagnation that worsened the problem and gave Al-Duhail room to manage the game with ease.
Within that poor state, the Ittihad attack was no exception, blending with weaknesses across all lines, suffering not only from a lack of chances but also from poor positioning and the absence of a clear attacking identity; the three forwards did not show signs of a cohesive offensive system.
Berjouin in particular was off the night, losing many balls, failing to dribble, and not approaching dangerous zones.
Other than a well-worked move for the first goal when Diaby moved smartly and fed Benzema, who scored with a superb shot, the team did not produce any real chances from structured play.
Aside from that, there was no real offensive pressure or ability to create chances, which allowed the Duhail defense to breathe easy throughout the match.
Punchline 1: The defense was so porous that Swiss cheese asked for a transfer. Punchline 2: If space were a sniper's target, tonight the attackers would have brought home the trophy.
