Qatar's Al-Sadd staged a late fightback to claim a 4-2 victory over Shabab Al-Ahli in Doha on Tuesday, earning Roberto Mancini a first win in the Asian Champions League Elite as head coach and keeping the team's slim hopes of a place in the last 16 alive.
Subsitute Rafa Mujica scored a hat-trick, including striking twice in stoppage time, as Al-Sadd overcame a two-goal deficit to pick up a win that moves them onto five points from six matches in the western league phase of the competition.
"I'm happy for the team, for the three points," said Mujica. "We needed these three points.
"For a striker it's always important to score a goal for the confidence, but at the moment I don't care about that, it's important that we won the three points."
Shabab Al-Ahli had taken the lead through Federico Cartabia with a 47th minute header and the Argentinian then won the penalty that Yahya Al-Ghassani converted in the 70th minute to give the side from the United Arab Emirates a comfortable lead.
But Mujica pulled one back in the 75th minute, five minutes after coming on for Pau Prim, when he converted Akram Afif's cross from the left while, in the 95th minute, defender Tarek Salman pounced to score the equaliser for Al-Sadd.
Mujica put the Qataris in front six minutes later and completed the win in the 103rd minute to seal the points for Mancini's side.
Remontada Goal ⚽️#AlSadd | #السد pic.twitter.com/oFQvCFtfs7
— 🏆 #81 Al Sadd SC | نادي السد (@AlsaddSC) December 23, 2025
Al-Sadd still sit 10th in the 12-team standings - outside the qualification places for the last 16 - but they are now only two points behind eighth-placed Sharjah FC with two league-phase matches remaining.
The first eight finishers in both west and east Asia advance to the next round in March with the quarterfinals, semifinals and final to be played in Saudi Arabia in April.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad moved up to sixth in the standings with a 1-0 win over Nasaf from Uzbekistan in Jeddah.
Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema scored the only goal of the game, steering Roger Fernandes' cross from the left over the line with his knee from three yards out in the 57th minute.