Benzema scores twice but Al-Ittihad loses 4-2 to Al-Duhail in Asian Champions League
Doha (AP) Karim Benzema scored twice but Al-Ittihad lost 4-2 to Al-Duhail of Qatar in the Asian Champions League Elite on Monday.
It was the Saudi Arabian champion's third loss in five games in the continental competition. The top eight from the 12-team western zone group stage — the first round of the tournament is split into geographic halves — advance to the knockout phase.
Algerian forward Adil Boulbina put Al-Duhail in control with a hat trick — scoring twice in the first half and adding a third seven minutes after the restart.
Polish forward Krzysztof Piatek made it 4-0 with 16 minutes remaining, before Benzema struck twice for the two-time champion.
Ittihad's Jeddah rival Al-Ahli lost 1-0 at home to Al-Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates.
Ousmane Camara put Sharjah ahead with just nine minutes remaining. Al-Ahli, the defending champion, thought it had rescued a point in the 90th minute, but Ziyad Al-Johani's would-be goal was ruled out for offside.
Earlier, Tractor of Iran continued its solid campaign with a 1-0 win at Uzbekistan's Nasaf Qarshi to move into second behind Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal. Al-Ahli Dubai defeated Qatar's Al-Gharafa 2-0.
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Himanta resigns as Assam CM, paving way for formation of new govt
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday resigned along with his cabinet colleagues, paving the way for formation of a new government led by the BJP, officials said.
The BJP-led NDA bagged 102 seats in the 126-member assembly. The assembly elections were held in a single phase on April 9, and counting of votes took place on May 4.
"Following the formal notification of the results of #AssamElections2026 and to enable the formation of the new government, Dr @himantabiswa tendered his resignation as Chief Minister along with that of the council of Ministers to Hon'ble Governor Shri @Laxmanacharya54 today at Lok Bhawan," the Chief Minister's Office said in a post on X.
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The Governor has accepted the resignation, and requested Sarma to continue as the caretaker CM till the new government assumes office, it said.
Later, speaking to reporters outside the Lok Bhawan, Sarma said the oath-taking ceremony is likely to take place after May 11.
“As it was a historic win, we have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grace the occasion," he said.
The new Assam chief minister will be selected at a meeting of the BJP legislature party in presence of central observers, Sarma said.
