Josh Brownhill of Burnley celebrates scoring his team's second goal from the penalty-spot during the Sky Bet Championship match between Burnley FC and Sheffield United FC at Turf Moor on April 21, 2025 in Burnley, England
A long way from Lancashire (Image credit: Getty Images)
An ex-Premier League star scored a hat-trick for his new club in a rampant 13-0 win.
Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Shabab routed Yemen’s Tadamoune Hadramout in the final game of the Gulf Club Champions League group stage, needing a goal difference of three to overtake second-place Al Nahda to qualify for the next round.
And a familiar face scored three goals in the first half to set Al-Shabab on their way, while Al Nahda got nothing in a 3-1 loss to group leaders Al-Rayyan.
Some familiar names
Ex-Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill broke the deadlock four minutes in with a composed finish before ex-Atletico Madrid star Yannick Carrasco struck an excellent free kick to make it 2-0.
Abdulqawi Al Hadhrami saw red for an absurdly unnecessary two-footed pneumatic drill-style challenge, sentencing his side to 83 minutes with ten men.
Yannick Carrasco on the ball for Al-Shabab against Al-Nassr in February 2024.
Carrasco in the black and white of Al-Shabab
Brownhill bravely claimed another past a sliding defender, then Carrasco plundered two more.
There was still time for Brownhill to miss an open goal, Morocco international Abderrazak Hamdallah to get off the mark, and Brownhill to tuck away a penalty before the break.
Hamdallah then filled his boots with five more goals to make it a double hat-trick and Jordan international Ali Azaizeh scored once.
Remarkably, that was Al-Shabab’s first win in the group, having endured four draws and a loss.
That loss came in the reverse fixture, as they were downed 2-0 in the away game. Clearly, they were out for revenge.
Brownhill moved to Al-Shabab in 2025 after making 211 appearances across six seasons with Burnley, including four seasons in the Premier League.
He broke through at Preston before spending four years at Bristol City in the Championship.
In Saudi Arabia, he has scored four times in 18 league games.