Wessem Abou Ali scored a perfect hat trick as Porto and Al Ahly played out an enthralling and chaotic 4-4 draw at MetLife Stadium on Monday night, with both sides exiting the tournament at the group stages.
Both Porto and Al Ahly came into the final game of Group A on Monday knowing that they would need favors elsewhere if they were to progress from the group, with Porto relying on Inter Miami to beat Palmeiras and Al Ahly relying on the reverse result due to head-to-head rules. A draw in Miami, meanwhile, would see both Palmeiras and Inter Miami qualify regardless of what happened in New Jersey.
With both teams’ fate out of their hands, Porto and Al Ahly threw caution to the wind in a topsy-turvy encounter that saw Porto peg back Al Ahly a staggering four times in front of 39,839 fans at MetLife Stadium.
Abou Ali, whose own goal gifted Palmeiras the lead in Al Ahly’s 2-0 defeat last Thursday, made amends for that error in style, giving Al Ahly the lead three times in a memorable opening 51 minutes.
Each time, however, Porto came back through goals from Rodrigo Mora, William Mora and Samu Omorodion. One particularly chaotic spell early in the second half saw Porto haul themselves level at 2-2, only to concede again within 60 seconds before scoring levelling again two minutes later as both sides showcased some truly abysmal defending.
Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane looked to have sealed victory for Al Ahly with a superb goal on 65 minutes – only for Porto substitute Pepe to rescue a draw for the Portuguese side at the death.
Palmeiras’s late comeback to snatch a 2-2 draw in Miami meant that the outcome of Monday’s 4-4 had little impact on the final make-up of Group A, but it did not make the game any less chaotic or entertaining as defenses at both ends regularly went missing.
Mora missed the game’s first opportunity on 14 minutes when he ghosted in at the back post to meet Joao Mario’s exquisite cross, but the youngster failed to generate proper contact from close range and the ball drifted harmlessly wide.
He was made to pay for that error 60 seconds later when Al Ahly took advantage of a Stephen Eustáquio slip in midfield and broke at pace. Hamdy Fathy played in Abou Ali, who squeezed a shot through the legs of José Pedro and beyond Claudio Ramos to send the strong contingent of Al Ahly fans into raptures.
The lead did not last long, however. Mora made up for his earlier miss when he collected a pass from Danny Namaso on the edge of the area and took on the Al Ahly defense.
There was some degree of luck in how the ball ricocheted off the Al Ahly defense and set the youngster through on goal, but there was no luck at all in the finish, with Mora calmly rounding Mohamed El Shenawy and finishing to the empty net to bring the sides level after 23 minutes.
Al Ahly, backed by a sea of red in East Rutherford, gradually regained the ascendancy as the half wore on and regained the lead on the stroke of half time when Fabio Vieira fouled Zizo in the area. Abou Ali made no mistake from the spot, sending Ramos the wrong way to hand Al Ahly the lead at the break.
Porto did not have to wait long to equalize after the interval – and again it was a peach from one of the Portuguese side’s young talents. Nineteen-year-old William collected a sweeping Goncalo Borges pass and cut inside before bending a shot into the top corner from the edge of the area on 50 minutes. A flat-footed El Shenawy arguably should have done better, however.
Porto had barely finished celebrated when they were behind again, with Abou Ali rising highest to plant meet a Mohamed Hany cross and plant a header into the top corner and complete a perfect hattrick on 51 minutes.
The Al Ahly celebrations had barely subsided when Porto equalized once again on 53 minutes, this time courtesy of some shambolic defending.
Samu, brought on as a half-time substitute, inexplicably found himself unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box from a Vieira corner and had the simple task of heading home from close range to bring Porto level for a third time.
As Porto celebrated, news of Inter Miami’s 2-0 lead over Palmeiras filtered through into MetLife Stadium, meaning that Porto would qualify for the knockout stages if they could take the lead.
It was Al Ahly, however, who took control in the closing stages despite being seemingly condemned to elimination by Inter Miami’s 2-0 lead over Palmeiras.
The Egyptians deservedly took the lead for a fourth time with the goal of the game when substitute when Ben Romdhane curled a pinpoint shot to the top corner from the edge of the area.
Porto, forced to chase the game yet again, could not create goalscoring opportunities and left themselves exposed at the back as they became increasingly desperate.
Al Ahly missed chance after chance to put the game to bed, but a Palmeiras goal on 80 minutes gave the red-clad supporters hope of an improbable turnaround in Group A.
The Brazilians equalized eight minutes later to further inspire hopes in the partisan Al Ahly crowd.
Then came the Al Ahly onslaught as the Egyptians missed chance after chance to boost their goal difference and leave themselves well-placed to take advantage of a potential Palmeiras winner.
Substitute Omar Kamal was guilty of a particularly bad miss on 85 minutes when Ramos spilled a routine claim into his path. Kamal, however, could not find the empty net and saw his tame shot deflected for a corner. Achraf Bencharki missed an equally good chance two minutes later when he blazed wide with just Ramos to beat.
Pepe beat El-Shenawy from range on 89 minutes to draw Porto level for a fourth time and put any faint hopes of Al Ahly’s progression to bed. Again, the Al Ahly keeper arguably should have done better to get across to a long-range effort.
In the end, it mattered little as Inter Miami and Palmeiras finished all square, sending Palmeiras through in first and Inter Miami through in second. Palmeiras will now take on Botafogo in an all-Brazilian affair in the round of 16, while Miami faces a daunting match-up against European champions PSG.
