DOHA, Qatar (AP) \u2014 Karim Benzema scored twice but Al-Ittihad lost 4-2 to Al-Duhail of Qatar in the Asian Champions League Elite on Monday.<\/p>\n
It was the Saudi Arabian champion\u2019s third loss in five games in the continental competition. The top eight from the 12-team western zone group stage \u2014 the first round of the tournament is split into geographic halves \u2014 advance to the knockout phase.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
Algerian forward Adil Boulbina put Al-Duhail in control with a hat trick \u2014 scoring twice in the first half and adding a third seven minutes after the restart.<\/p>\n
Polish forward Krzysztof Piatek made it 4-0 with 16 minutes remaining, before Benzema struck twice for the two-time champion.<\/p>\n
Ittihad\u2019s Jeddah rival Al-Ahli lost 1-0 at home to Al-Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
Ousmane Camara put Sharjah ahead with just nine minutes remaining. Al-Ahli, the defending champion, thought it had rescued a point in the 90th minute, but Ziyad Al-Johani\u2019s would-be goal was ruled out for offside.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Tractor of Iran continued its solid campaign with a 1-0 win at Uzbekistan\u2019s Nasaf Qarshi to move into second behind Saudi Arabia\u2019s Al-Hilal. Al-Ahli Dubai defeated Qatar\u2019s Al-Gharafa 2-0.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n