Karim Benzema's Misfiring Al Ittihad Beaten In Asian Champions League
Karim Benzema's Al Ittihad suffered their first defeat in this season's Asian Champions League when they were beaten 2-0 by Air Force Club in Iraq on Monday to pile the pressure on manager Nuno Espirito Santo. The current Saudi Arabian champions, struggling in the Saudi Pro League, went into the match in Erbil boasting a 100 percent record in Group C after defeating Air Force Club 1-0 in Jeddah last month. However, goals at the Franso Hariri Stadium from Ali Jasim and Mohannad Abdulraheem pulled the hosts to within two points of the group leaders after four matches. Back-to-back Asian champions in 2004 and 2005, Ittihad fell behind to the dominant home side one minute before half-time, when Jasim fired home Abdulraheem's cut-back.
