AFC Champions League Elite: Al Ahli Saudi FC Beat Al Gharafa 2-1

Al Ahli Saudi FC defeated Al Gharafa SC 2-1 in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday, October 26, 2026. The Matchday 3 West League Stage game took place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah. Ivan Toney opened the scoring, Florinel Coman brought Al Gharafa level, and Matheus Gonçalves scored the winner in the 86th minute. This update reflects the final result and official match information published by October 27.

Final score and confirmed goal timeline

The final was Al Ahli 2, Al Gharafa 1. The AFC’s match report confirms the result, the late Gonçalves winner, Al Ahli’s seven points, and Al Gharafa’s third consecutive defeat. The AFC match record and beIN SPORTS match page list the three goals in the same sequence:

Al Ahli struck early when Toney finished a pass from Eduard Spertsyan. Al Gharafa’s equalizer came after halftime: Yacine Brahimi initiated the move, Saif Eldeen Fadlalla supplied the cutback, and Coman finished in the 53rd minute. Gonçalves then met Ziyad Al Johani’s cross from the right and curled the decisive shot into the bottom-left corner. The sequence shows how the lead changed, but the scoreline alone does not establish which team controlled possession or created more chances across the full match.

Al Gharafa also lost Seydou Sano to a second yellow card in the 77th minute. The dismissal left the visitors with 10 players for the closing stretch; Gonçalves scored nine minutes later. That is the confirmed sequence of events, without assuming the card alone caused the winning goal.

Kickoff time and Jeddah venue

The AFC’s official Matchday 3 schedule lists Al Ahli Saudi FC versus Al Gharafa SC on Monday, October 26, at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, with a 19:00 kickoff. The AFC fixture record confirms the match date and gives the start as 16:00 UTC. On that date Jeddah observed Arabia Standard Time (AST, UTC+03:00), so the local kickoff was 7:00 p.m. AST on October 26; the UTC time was 4:00 p.m. UTC on the same date. Both labels refer to the event’s start, not the publication or update time.

The stadium name and city match the AFC schedule and fixture record. This matters because match listings sometimes shorten venue names or show a commercial stadium name. For this article, the confirmed competition listing is King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The result confirms the match was played as scheduled; the separate AFC notice changing another Matchday 3 fixture, Al Nassr versus Al Wasl, does not apply to this game.

What the result means in the West League Stage

The win moved Al Ahli to seven points after three matches. Al Gharafa remained without a point after three consecutive defeats, according to the AFC’s post-match report. Those totals are useful context, but they do not settle either club’s qualification. A Matchday 3 result is one part of an eight-match league-stage campaign, and the standings remain open.

The 2026/27 competition regulations describe two 12-club regional leagues. Each team plays eight league matches, four at home and four away, against eight different opponents. The top eight clubs in each regional league qualify for the knockout stage when the league stage ends. As a result, Al Ahli’s seven points strengthen its position but do not clinch a place, while three losses put Al Gharafa under pressure without eliminating it. Avoid describing the Jeddah result as a qualification decision.

Team news, injury status, and Sano’s suspension

Before kickoff, the Saudi Press Agency reported that Al Ahli head coach Marino Pušić said his side was ready to face Al Gharafa. That statement was not a full medical bulletin. The AFC preview and post-match report, and the official material reviewed for this update, do not provide a complete injury list or confirm additional injury-related absences for either club. A player’s absence should not be inferred from the final score or from an unverified lineup.

Sano’s dismissal is different from an injury report. The match record logs his second caution at 77 minutes, and the Qatar News Agency’s match report also records that he was sent off after receiving a second yellow. Under Articles 12.2 and 13.5 of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code, an expulsion after two cautions in one match carries an automatic suspension from the next match in the same competition. Sano is therefore expected to miss Al Gharafa’s next AFC Champions League Elite match. The code allows the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee to extend a suspension; no additional penalty is stated here.

Official match page and viewing information

The match has finished, so a live listing is no longer the right place to check the score. The AFC’s match report and official fixture record are the primary references for the result, venue, and scheduled kickoff. beIN SPORTS also keeps a match page with the final score and goal times. The AFC maintains a “Where to Watch” page for its competition, but broadcast and replay availability can depend on territory and rights holder. Because no reader country was specified, this update does not name one channel as universal. Check the AFC page and the local rights holder for any replay or highlights currently available in your market.

For a concise recap, the verified facts are straightforward: Al Ahli won 2-1 in Jeddah, Toney and Gonçalves scored for the home side, Coman scored for Al Gharafa, and Gonçalves supplied the 86th-minute winner. The match was scheduled for 7:00 p.m. AST (UTC+03:00) on October 26, and the score added three points to Al Ahli’s league-stage total. The only confirmed suspension issue identified in the reviewed material is Sano’s automatic next-match ban following his second-yellow dismissal. No comprehensive injury list was published in the official items checked.

Sources: AFC Matchday 3 report; AFC official fixture record; AFC Matchday 3 schedule; Qatar News Agency match report; AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Code; 2026/27 competition regulations; beIN SPORTS match page; AFC Where to Watch; Saudi Press Agency pre-match report.