Al-Ittihad secured a resounding 7-0 victory over their Qatari visitors, Al-Gharafa, in the seventh round of the AFC Champions League group stage.
Houssem Aouar was the star of the show, netting a hat-trick, while Youssef En-Nesyri scored his first goal for the club. Roger Fernandez added two goals, and Danilo Pereira contributed one.
This victory is Al-Ittihad’s biggest win in their AFC Champions League history, equaling their 7-0 victory over Umm Salal of Qatar in the 2009 group stage.
Al-Ittihad, who have faced numerous crises recently, most notably the departures of Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté, increased their points tally to 12, placing them fifth in the group and bringing them closer to securing qualification for the Round of 16.
Generally, Al-Ittihad have a history of achieving impressive results in the Champions League. They previously defeated Shandong Luneng of China 7-2 in the 2004 quarterfinals and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 5-0 in the final of the same edition in South Korea.
Al-Ittihad defeated Busan Park 5-0 in the first leg of the 2005 semi-final, Nagoya Grampus of Japan 6-2 in the 2009 semi-final, and Al-Rayyan of Qatar 5-1 in the 2019 group stage.
It’s worth noting that the biggest win in AFC Champions League history is 15-0, achieved twice: first in 2004 when Seongnam FC of South Korea defeated Persik Kedri of Indonesia, and again in 2006 when Gamba Osaka beat Da Nang of Vietnam.
