Saudi outfit Al Shabab lost to Iran’s Sepahan 1-0 in Tuesday’s ACL action at the Foolad Shahr Stadium and a day later the club had replaced Portuguese Jaime Pacheco.

The same fate befell UAE side Al Ain’s Brazilian coach Antonio Cerezo yesterday after they suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Uzbek powerhouse Pakhtakor on Tuesday.

The defeat for Al Shabab shrank their chances of advancing deeper into the competition while Al Ain are out of the reckoning altogether.

The Riyadh side announced on its website that the board of directors “decided to change the coach after the latest result”, adding that it was a “difficult decision at this crucial stage”.

Al Shabab’s reins have been handed over to another Brazilian, the side’s U-19 age group coach Edgar Perreira, who was earlier the Brazilian national U-19 team coach. He will lead the team against Pakhtakor on April 27 and also against Al Ittihad in the Saudi King’s Cup next week.

Al Shabab need to beat their Uzbek rivals at all costs on the last ACL match day to ensure their place in the Round of 16.

There is no word yet on who will take over at Al Ain from Cerezo.

The club, which won the ACL title in 2003 and were losing finalists in 2005, announced on its website: “The decision (to remove Cerezo) was taken after a full evaluation of the team results in the last few matches locally and in the ACL, which wasn’t of the levels we were hoping for.”

The side’s chances of silverware now hinge on the domestic league in which they are 11 points behind leaders Al Wahda with four matches to play.