Raja Casablanca of Morocco has won the much-delayed final of the 2020 Arab Club Champions Cup after defeating Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad 4-3 on penalties at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
The final of the competition, also known as the Mohammed VI Champions Cup, went straight into a shootout, without extra time, after the two teams had played out an astonishing 4-4 draw in 90 minutes.
Al-Ittihad flew out of the blocks by taking a fourth-minute lead through Bruno Henrique, but Ilias Haddad equalized for Raja only a minute later.
Mahmoud Benhalib then put Raja 2-1 ahead with only 13 minutes on the clock, before Romarinho tied for Al-Ittihad in the 28th minute from the penalty spot. It would not be the last of the night.
Zakaria El-Wardi scored for Raja eight minutes before the break to give the Moroccans a remarkable 3-2 lead at the break.
The second half would prove just as dramatic. Sofiane Rahimi scored Raja’s fourth goal in the 50th minute, and for the first time on the night one of the teams had taken a two-goal lead. It would not be enough, however.
Romarinho replied almost immediately for the Jeddah club, halving the deficit in the 53rd minute to make the score 4-3.
The Brazilian then completed his hat-trick with his second penalty of the night to make it 4-4 in the 64th minute from a penalty kick.
Surprisingly, considering what had gone on before, there would be no more scoring for the rest of the match.
In the penalty shootout, Raja’s Rahimi, Muhammad Zrida, Abdelilah Hafidi and Omar Arjoun scored while Abdelilah Madkour missed.
Al-Ittihad’s Romarinho, Igor Coronado and Abdullelah Al-Malki converted while Bruno Henrique and Fahad Al-Muwallad missed, handing Raja the title.
The result denied the Saudi club what would have been the second win of the competition, having beaten Club Sportif Sfaxien of Tunisia 2-0 in the 2004-05 final.
