Al Sadd's Akram Afif in action.
Doha, Qatar: A resilient Al Sadd fought back to claim a 3-1 victory over Al Wasl in the second leg, securing a 4-2 aggregate score to reach the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League Elite yesterday.
As in the first leg in Dubai, which ended in a 1-1 draw last week, Felix Sanchez’s side conceded an early goal with Fabio Lima putting Al Wasl ahead at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.
However, Al Sadd, the 2011 champions, bounced back within the first half with strikes from Mostafa Meshaal and Youcef Atal before captain Akram Afif’s stunning goal sealed the victory.
The win was a sweet revenge for Al Sadd following their 1-0 defeat to Al Wasl in the Qatar-UAE Super Shield in January, sending their home fans into raptures.
Akram Afif celebrates with teammates after scoring Al Sadd's third goal.
Afif, who once again played a key role for his side in a crucial match, said that Al Sadd aim to go far in the tournament.
“I think we deserved the win today; the result is fair. The best is yet to come from Al Sadd. Right now, we should enjoy this moment,” said Afif.
‘We need to at least reach the furthest stage in the tournament. I’d like to congratulate our fans. It truly makes us happy as players to see them with this passion and excitement.’
This was the fourth meeting between the two sides this season, and like the previous encounters, it proved to be a tense and thrilling tie.
Lima stunned the home fans early on, tapping in a touch from Alexis Perez at the center of the box into the bottom left corner to give Al Wasl the lead in the 10th minute.
Al Sadd regrouped and Afif made their first real attempt, but his shot was saved by goalkeeper Khaled Al Senani. The Qatari playmaker remained in the thick of the action and after a brilliant run, he set up Meshaal, who slotted home from the center of the box to the left corner to level the score in the 26th minute.
The equaliser breathed new life into Al Sadd, and they began to dominate. Youcef Atal’s brilliance four minutes later earned them the lead, as the Algerian magnificently netted from a difficult angle on the right, finding the far side netting.
Al Sadd were in control and Afif extended their lead with a clinical strike from outside the box into the top right corner following a set-piece in the 37th minute.
Soufiane Bouftini tried to reduce the deficit with a header, but it was saved. Moments before the break, Claudinho should have scored for Al Sadd from a good position after a fine cross from Paulo Otavio, but his effort went wide.
Trailing by two goals, Al Wasl improved in the second half, pushing to get back into the match. Attempts from Joao Pedro and Nicolas Gimenez were parried by Meshaal Barsham. Al Wasl continued to press and Caio Canedo came close to pulling one back with a header from Lima’s cross, but it sailed just over the bar.
Bouftini was also unsuccessful with his attempt, while Gimenez and Jonatas Santos were both off target as Al Sadd clung onto their lead to seal their place in the quarter-finals for the sixth time in tournament’s history.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
ROUND OF 16
Al Nassr 3 - 0 Esteghlal FC
Aggregate score 3-0
Al Sadd 3-1 Al Wasl
Aggregate score 4-2
TODAY'S FIXTURES
Yokohama F. Marinos vs Shanghai Port
Johor Darul Ta'zim vs Buriram United
Al Hilal vs Pakhtakor Tashkent
Al Ahli vs Al Rayyan (At King Abdullah Sports City - Jeddah) Kick off at 11:00pm
