Al Nassr‘s Jhon Durán scored twice and Cristiano Ronaldo netted a penalty as the Saudi Pro League side booked a place in the Asian Champions League Elite last eight on Monday with a 3-0 win over Iran‘s Esteghlal while Qatar‘s Al Sadd beat Al Wasl.
Akram Afif was instrumental in Al-Sadd’s 3-1 victory in Doha and got on the scoresheet as he led Felix Sanchez’s side to a 4-2 aggregate win over the side from the United Arab Emirates.
Al Nassr’s win in Riyadh came after a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Tehran last week and takes Stefano Pioli’s team into the quarterfinals, which will be played in Jeddah as part of a centralised tournament from April 25 to May 3.
Duran put Al Nassr in front after nine minutes, with the Colombian lifting the ball over Seyed Hossein Hosseini after the Esteghlal goalkeeper gifted possession to the striker 25 metres from goal.
The Saudis doubled their lead from the penalty spot, Ronaldo stepping up in the 27th minute to convert with typical confidence following Mohammad Niknafs’ mistimed challenge on Sadio Mané.
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Esteghlal’s task was made almost impossible when Mehran Ahmadi was sent off for a second bookable offence late in the first half as he caught Mohammed Al Fatil in the face with a flailing arm.
Duran claimed his second goal of the game six minutes from time when he whipped a low strike into the bottom corner having earlier hit the post as Al Nassr eased through.
“I think we played well,” said Mané. “We created many chances and we scored three goals. I think we got our reward.
“We pressed well together, we pushed them and they made mistakes and from that we scored three goals. We have a clean sheet and we cannot expect more than this.”
Al Sadd progressed as a result of an 11-minute spell in the first half against Al Wasl that saw the Qataris score three times to overturn Fábio Lima‘s early opener.
The Brazil-born forward gave his side the lead in the 10th minute, sweeping a first-time shot home after Alexis Perez’s centre had arced over the Al Sadd back line.
But Afif unlocked the Al Wasl defence to haul Al Sadd level 16 minutes later, driving towards the byline before pulling the ball back into the path of Mostafa Meshaal who he slotted into the bottom corner.
Youcef Atal‘s strike saw Al Sadd take the lead on the half-hour as he cut inside towards goal before his shot from the tightest of angles deflected past Khaled Al-Senaani via the boot of Al Wasl defender Jung Seung-hyun.
Asian Player of the Year Afif showed his quality with the third in the 37th minute, playing a short free kick to Claudinho and then bending the return into the top corner from 20 metres.
