Turkmen football club “Arkadag” lost 0-1 to Saudi Arabia's “Al-Nasr” in the second leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16.

The match took place in Riyadh. Saudi Arabian forward Abdulrahman Gharib scored the only goal of the match in the second minute. In the 91st minute, the referee, after reviewing VAR, showed “Arkadag” defender Guychmyrat Annagulyev a red card, leaving the visitors with ten men.

“Al-Nassr's” head coach, as in the first match in Ashgabat, left key players out of the starting lineup, including Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo. Only Brazilian Angelo and Spaniard Iñigo Martínez started. In the second half, some star foreign players, João Félix, Marcelo Brozović, and Kingsley Coman, did make an appearance.

“Arkadag's” lineup saw a number of changes compared to the first match. Forward Didar Durdyev and midfielder Resul Hojayev were benched, with Dayanch Meredov and Abdy Bashimov taking their places in the starting lineup. The Turkmen club also changed its formation: instead of a 4-3-3, the team took to the field in a 5-3-2 formation. Meredov's performance in the first half was poor, and Durdyev returned to the field early in the second half. This match also saw the debut of Meylis Diniev, who moved to the club this winter from “Kyrgyzaltyn”, for “Arkadag”.

The first match, held in Ashgabat, ended with a 1-0 victory for the Saudi team. Following the two-legged tie, “Al-Nasr” advanced to the tournament quarterfinals, where they will play “Al-Wasl” of the UAE.

“Arkadag” qualified for the playoffs following the group stage, finishing second in a group with Qatari “Al-Ahli”, Uzbek “Andijan” and Bahraini “Al-Haldiya”.

Last season, “Arkadag”, under head coach Vladimir Bayramov, became Turkmenistan champions for the third consecutive time and won the Turkmenistan Cup. In May 2025, the team won the 2024/25 AFC Challenge League Cup, defeating Cambodia's “Preah Khan Rich Svay Rieng” FC 2-1 in the final. In September of that year, Bayramov's team won the Turkmenistan Super Cup, subsequently advancing to the round of 16 of the AFC Champions League II for the first time in their history.

ф