Al Shabab vs Al Taawon 3-0

Al Shabab beat Al Taawon 3-0 at SHG Arena, with Abdullah Matuq’s early goal, a red card for Ali Al-Bulaihi and a late finish from Yannick Carrasco shaping the game. Al Taawon had most of the ball, but Al Shabab took the chances that mattered.

Matuq opened the scoring in the 18th minute for Al Shabab, and the match moved further their way after a VAR check at 30 minutes confirmed a card upgrade for Al-Bulaihi before his red card in the 33rd minute. Ricardo Mathias then made it 2-0 three minutes into first-half stoppage time, with no assist recorded. Al Shabab led 2-0 at the break.

Al Taawon had a penalty cancelled after a VAR review for Abderrazak Hamdallah in the 47th minute and made two changes on 57 minutes, then another double change on 68 minutes, but they never found a reply. Al Shabab also changed their side, sending on Mamadou Thierno Barry in the 37th minute, before Yacine Adli was booked on 70 minutes and Al Taawon picked up further yellow cards as they chased the match. Carrasco sealed it in the 85th minute, finishing Ricardo Mathias's assist for 3-0. Al Shabab then made two more changes on 88 minutes.

The statistics showed the split in control. Al Taawon had 68% possession and 473 passes to Al Shabab's 228, and also had more shots at 15-13 and corners at 4-1. Al Shabab were more accurate, with 6 shots on target to 3, a higher xG of 2.22 to 0.82, and they also committed fewer offsides, 0-4.

The bookings were spread across both sides. Al Shabab's Abdullah Matuq was booked in the 43rd minute and Yacine Adli on 70 minutes, while Ali Al-Bulaihi was sent off in the 33rd minute. Al Taawon's cautions went to Faris Al-Ghamdi in first-half stoppage time, Marin Plamenov·Petkov on 49 minutes, Ashraf El Mahdioui on 67 minutes after a VAR review, Abderrazak Hamdallah on 70 minutes and Zinéddine Belaïd on 78 minutes.