AFC Champions League: Boulbina and Al Duhail sink Al Ittihad

Adil Boulbina leaped to the top of the AFC Champions League Elite scoring chart after producing a hat-trick as Qatari club Al Duhail dominated Saudi champions Al Ittihad 4-2 on Monday.

The Paradou AC youth product, who made his big move to Al Duhail ahead of the 2025-26 season, was in deadly form to give the Qatar Stars League club a massive victory. The surprise result against the Saudi champions helped Monday’s winners jump past Ittihad into sixth place on the league phase table with seven points from five matches.

Led by former Algeria national team coach and player Djamel Belmadi, Boulbina is thriving at his new club and displayed his confidence in a big match. Inside five minutes, the 22-year-old received a pass from former Lazio star Luis Alberto and did the rest, driving to the edge of the penalty area before firing a fierce effort past goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.

 

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Boulbina doubled his tally in the 33rd minute to complete a lethal counter-attack. Marco Verratti’s pass down the right wing found the Algerian, who maneuvered past a defender for a 1-v-1 situation in which he came out on top against Rajkovic again with a clever finish.

And soon after halftime, the hat-trick was completed with a poacher’s finish inside the penalty area after a couple of dynamic feint moves to open up space for a shot.

Boulbina now has 8 goals and 5 assists in 16 matches since joining Al Duhail. While the club are currently struggling in the Qatar Stars League with an 8th place position in the 12-team league, the Algerian is helping his club find success in continental competition with a remarkable 6 goals in 6 matches to lead all scorers.

Duhail will next focus on the QSL Cup where they have three fixtures in the next two weeks before returning to AFC Champions League Elite action on December 22 when they travel to face Iran’s Tractor SC.