Al Ittihad, Al Hilal unbeaten in Asian Champions

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Former champions Al Ittihad and Al Hilal remained unbeaten while another former two-time winner, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, endured its first defeat in the Asian Champions League on Tuesday.

Al Ittihad came away from the United Arab Emirates' Al Jazira with a 0-0 draw to stay atop Group C.

Al Hilal, against whom Al Ittihad will play for the Saudi Arabia league title this weekend, beat another Emirates club, Al Ahli 2-1 to stay second to Group A leader Pakhtakor, a 2-0 winner over Iran host Saba Battery.

South Korea's Suwon lost 2-1 to Shanghai Shenhua, tightening up Group G which features three teams with six points. J-League champion Kashima Antlers was the other after dealing to winless Armed Forces of Singapore 4-1.

In other results halfway through group play, it was Umm Salal 1, Al Esteghlal 0; Nagoya Grampus 1, Newcastle Jets 1; and Ulsan Hyundai 1, Beijing Guoan 0.

Al Ittihad had goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid to thank for preserving the draw against Al Jazira at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.

Zaid brilliantly saved a close-range shot from Rafael Sobis with one hand, and collected another shot from Fernando Baiano after halftime in a one-on-one showdown. With 11 minutes to go, Al Jazira had reason to curse its luck when Ibrahim Diaky's powerful drive rebounded off the bottom left upright, off Zaid's back and out for a corner.

The only goal in Doha became a tournament highlight when Magno Alves beat two Al Esteghlal defenders and fed Fabio Cesar, who beat two more then fired past the charging goalkeeper in the 68th minute for Umm Salal's win.

With Al Ittihad on seven points and Umm Salal with six, the pair has opened a gap on Al Jazira with two and Al Esteghlal on one.

In Riyadh, visiting Al Ahli opened through Ahmed Khalil in the 13th. Yasser al-Qahtani headed in the equalizer in the 32nd for Al Hilal, which decided the match four minutes into second-half injury time, when Mirel Radoi's penalty gave the club five points, just two behind Group A leader Pakhtakor.

Saba Battery was dominating Pakhtakor in Qom until midfielder Mohsen Yousefi was sent off for fouling Pakhtakor midfielder Darko Markovic in the 27th and was sent off. Pakhtakor needed a half-hour to take advantage, as substitute striker Zaynitdin Tadjiyev deflected in a right cross from Alexander Geynrikh. Farhod Tadjiev made it 2-0 with a low shot in the 65th.

Pakhtakor's next two games are in Uzbekistan, while Al Hilal will hit the road, offering hope to Saba Battery, which has two points, and Al Ahli with one.

Group G couldn't be tighter with the top three team all with one loss and six points, with Suwon ahead on goal difference from Kashima and Shanghai.

Shanghai struck first against Suwon in the 18th, with Yanko Valkanov heading in Vyacheslav Hleb's free kick. Suwon tied it in the 65th with a header from captain Li Weifing, but Hleb had the last say from a solo run in the 76th.

Kashima, which lost to Suwon and beat Shanghai, dismantled the hapless Armed Forces, with goalkeeper Sogahata Hitoshi even blocking a penalty.

Group E was also wide open with only Nagoya unbeaten, but only a point ahead of Beijing and Newcastle, and two points in front of Ulsan.

Keiji Tamada scored in the 65th for Nagoya with a free kick over the wall to salvage a 1-1 draw with Australia's visiting Newcastle. Defender Tarek Elrich had opened after only nine minutes. Newcastle hosts the return match in two weeks.

Oh Jang-eun notched the only goal in the 69th, from a rebound off the crossbar, for Ulsan's first win in three matches, at Beijing's expense.

With six minutes remaining, Ulsan goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang saved a Huang Bowen penalty to ensure the win for the Korean club.

On Wednesday, it's: Sharjah vs. Shabab, Piroozi Athletic vs. Al Gharafa, Ettifaq vs. Al Shabab Al Ahli, Bunyodkor vs. Foolad Sepahan, Shandong Luneng vs. FC Seoul, Gamba Osaka vs. Sriwijaya FC, Pohang Steelers vs. Tianjin Teda, Central Coast Mariners vs. Kawasaki Frontale.