Saudi dominance dented

Saudi champions Al Ittihad haven't had it all their own way in the opening rounds of the AFC Champions League Elite

- JOHN DUERDEN

In May, Al Ittihad celebrated winning their tenth Saudi Pro League (SPL) title by eight points.

The only downside was the fact that, in the same month, they had to watch Jeddah rivals Al Ahli lift the AFC Champions League Elite trophy in front of 60,000 delighted fans.

No matter: the new campaign would give manager Laurent Blanc the chance to add to the club's pair of continental titles, won in 2004 and 2005 - or so he thought. In September, the French coach was out after the Tigers had lost their first two games.

Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Fabinho have all won European titles with Real Madrid, Chelsea and Liverpool respectively, but are finding that Asia's top-tier tournament is no walk in the park. Successive defeats against Al Wahda and then Shabab Al Ahli, both of the United Arab Emirates, combined with a loss in the first crunch game in the SPL against Al Nassr, saw Blanc sent on his way.

The format, with the top eight from each of the two 12-team groups going through to the knockout stage, means that Al Ittihad should still progress. But results need to improve and quickly - especially given that their rivals Al Hilal have started well.