Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab have been the standouts of the group stage but there is one more: Al-Duhail. The Qatari team were taken over by Hernan Crespo in March and despite losing the first game of Group D to Al-Taawoun, they bounced back to win the next five and finish in first by some distance.

 Al-Duhail pose biggest threat to Saudi challenge

ترتيب الدوري السعودي الدرجه الاولى

It ended with a 5-2 win over Sepahan of Iran. The team have some impressive firepower with the prolific Kenyan Michael Olunga, Nam Tae-hee of South Korea and Edmilson of Belgium. The team’s weakness is obviously at the back. Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab have conceded four goals between them in the group stage so far but Al-Duhail’s backline has been breached on no less than nine occasions. On their day however, the Qataris can beat anyone and will be looking forward to the knockout stages when they eventually kick off.

5. India dash Iraq’s dreams

Going into the final game, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya would have given themselves and Iraq a great chance of a first-ever appearance in the knockout stages if they had defeated Mumbai City. Instead, they lost 1-0 to the Indians.

The Airmen will be kicking themselves at missing this opportunity. Mumbai started brightly and created a number of opportunities before taking the lead on the half hour. For much of the rest of the match however, the Iraqi team pushed forward but were just unable to put one of their numerous chances away.

It was an entertaining match, however, and both teams will take positives out of the tournament. Al-Shabab were clearly on a different level but the clubs from India and Iraq were competitive. Mumbai became the first team from their country to win a Champions League game. They ended up winning two and finished second in their group — a fine achievement. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya will be happy at being in the mix right until the end but will wonder if they could have gone further.