Mosimane’s Al Wahda hand Andres Iniesta’s Emirates Club heavy defeat
Pitso Mosimane’s Al Wahda handed ex-Barcelona star Andre Iniesta’s Emirates Club a heavy 8-0 aggregate defeat over two legs in the Arabian Gulf Cup.
Al Wahda took a 3-0 lead in the first leg of the Cup contest a fortnight ago before a 5-0 drubbing in the second leg on Thursday afternoon.
The former Barcelona star, Iniesta, started the game but had to be pulled out at half time.
Al Wahda opened the scoring through Christian Guanca, who was also on target in the first leg. He scored from the penalty spot before in-form Argentinian forward Facundo Kruspzky added the second.
They went to the break leading 2-0 as they dominated proceedings. Al Wahda enjoyed more ball possession, with Kruspzky scoring three more goals in the second half to secure a place in the next round of the tournament.
Al Wahda went into the tie with an advantage, but Mosimane warned his charges to be wary of their opponents.
MOSIMANE’S AL WAHDA CONTINUED THEIR DOMINANCE
Mosimane’s side continued their dominance over Emirates club, having met 15 times since 2016.
Al Wahda has won 11 of those contests, while four of them ended in draws. Emirates Club have scored 12 goals in those matches compared to Al Wahda’s 41 goals.
Even the former Barca and Spain midfielder could not help his new club as Mosimane’s charges ran riot.
Iniesta, whom Mosimane recently praised, joined Emirates from Vissel Kobe in August and is still finding his feet in the UAE league.
On the other hand, it was a third successive win for Mosimane’s Al Wahda. He recently took over as head coach with the mandate to win the UAE Pro League.
The good run in the Cup competition will come as a boost for the man nicknamed ‘Jingles’.
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