Doha, Qatar: Ten-man Al Gharafa suffered a 4-3 defeat to Sharjah FC after conceding a stoppage-time goal in Sharjah yesterday in their AFC Champions League Elite 2025/26 opener.
Igor Coronado struck deep into injury time to earn hosts Sharjah FC, slidding his shot beyond substitute goalkeeper Lecomte Amine nine minutes into stoppage time to complete a remarkable comeback for the AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 winners, who had trailed for much of the match.
Vladimir Prijovic almost levelled two minutes into added time when he fizzed a shot wide of Khalifa Ababacar’s left post while seconds later Coronado, introduced from the bench just moments later, clipped the frame of the goal with another effort from the edge of the area.
Sharjah’s hopes were further dented four minutes into added time when Brahimi’s perfectly weighted pass released Joselu into the area and the Spanish striker put his first-time effort past Mohammad.
The home side looked beaten at the interval but halved the deficit on the hour mark to spark a revival. Ousmane Camara was brought down by Seydou Sano’s challenge and, although Ababacar saved Manaj’s penalty, the striker converted the rebound.
Two minutes later the teams were level. The Al Gharafa defence made a mess of clearing Coronado’s cross from the right and Camara thumped his shot into the bottom corner from eight yards out.
A foul by Shaheen Abdalla on Joselu handed the initiative back to the visitors, the Sharjah captain upending the former Real Madrid forward, who converted the penalty to put his side back in front in the 73rd minute.
Ababacar’s clumsy foul on Manaj in the dying minutes saw the goalkeeper handed a red card and Manaj stepped up to thump his free kick home while nine minutes later Coronado claimed the points for Sharjah with a left-foot finish that he slotted past the Amine.
