MATCH REPORT

Raja Casablanca of Morroco lost by a narrower margin than it seems, as a ball which clearly did not cross the line was awarded as a goal to Fabio Luciano of Corinthians. It was one of many refereeing errors which spoiled an otherwise surprisingly equal game, and one which incensed goalkeeper Chadili and defender Misbah so much they each picked up a yellow card for dissent with the referee.
The rest of the game saw good chances at both ends go begging, as the African champions put up a more determined fight than perhaps most were expecting. The Brazilian fans didn't like when Raja played the "European game", passing the ball around to keep possession from Corinthians, and whistled and jeered loudly. But neither did they like it when Raja played the Brazilian way and pulled shirts and held players down. The half-time interval arrived with the scores still level at 0 apiece.
Just a few minutes into the second half, however, Corinthians made their first goal, a short cross from Marcelinho landing at the feet of Luizão who only had to give the ball a poke to get it in the net. Despite some excellent play from Raja, especially some winding runs from Mustapha Moustaoudia, they could not find a way to equalise and it was the controversial goal from Luciano which finally sunk them. Corinthians' giant goalkeeper Dida also earned his pay, pulling off a string of fine saves.
Had Raja scored only one goal they could rightfully complain of being robbed of this game. However, their failure to score did not take away from a strong performance which should serve as a warning to Al-Nassr when they meet on the 7th of January.