RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo guided Al Nassr into the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League on Wednesday as the Saudi side beat domestic rivals Al Fayh 2-0 to advance 3-0 on aggregate.
Nassr, who won the first leg 1-0 last week thanks to a Ronaldo goal nine minutes from time, were the better side at Al Awwal Park and took the lead on 17 minutes through Portuguese winger Otavio.
The former Porto star, who joined Nassr last summer, headed home from close range to score in his second successive game for the club.
His compatriot Ronaldo looked set to endure a personally frustrating night, with the Portugal captain having a string of penalties disallowed and a goal disallowed for offside not long into the second half.
Ronaldo, who turns 39 earlier this month, was also booked in first-half stoppage time for a late challenge before Nassr manager Luis Castro was shown a yellow card for protesting the decision too vehemently.
Captain Nassr should have had the final word, however, when four minutes from time he caught the exact ball to another Marcel Brozovic.
Also read: German Bundesliga drops foreign investor search
Fayha goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovič should have really dealt with the situation, but his attempt to kick the onrushing Ronaldo could only be kicked away. The ball fell enticingly for Ronaldo to tap into the empty net.
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward scored his tenth goal in the last nine games for Nassr. Ronaldo, a five-time UEFA Champions League winner, is competing in its Asian equivalent for the first time.
In the night’s other West Asian fixture, 2003 champions Al Ain came from behind at home with Nasaf Qarshi to win 2-1 in stoppage time and seal their place in the quarter-finals.
The United Arab Emirates side, the only Emirati club to lift the trophy, scored a goal five minutes into the second half at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium when he failed to deal with a corner, leaving Nasaf striker Bobur Abdikholikov to fire the ball through. six yard box. Teammate Akmal Mozgovoy finished at the far post.
Last week’s first leg in Qarshi ended goalless and the Uzbek side stole their way into the last eight.
Yet Al Ain needed just four minutes to level. Togolese striker Kodjo Laba was alert to a meandering loose ball in the Nasaf penalty area to volley acrobatically home.
However, the drama was saved by the second minute after the injury. Goalkeeper Nasaf Abduvohid Nematov somehow contrived to head a cross from the left to Sofiane Rahimi. The Al Ain playmaker took one touch before trying to put the home side 2-1 up.
Al Ain and Nassr, the latter semi-finalists in their past two Champions League campaigns, will face each other over two legs next month for a place in the last four.
KEWELL STARTS WELL
Former Australian star Harry Kewell guided Japan’s Yokohama F-Marinos into the quarter-finals after beating Bangkok United 1-0 in their first home game to win 3-2 on aggregate.
Brazil’s Anderson Lopes converted an extra-time penalty at the end of extra time to send Yokohama into a match with China’s Shandong Taishan in the round of 16.
“It’s been tough but it’s worth it when you create something special for the club by making it to the last eight,” said Kewell.
“We look forward to the challenge.”
Ulsan also advanced to the quarter-finals and will face fellow South Koreans Jeonbuk after beating Japan’s Ventforet Kofu 2-1 to win 5-1 on aggregate.
Former Leeds and Liverpool striker Kewell left his job as first-team coach at Scottish champions Celtic last month to take the reins at Yokohama.
Kewell won 58 caps for Australia, appeared in two World Cups and won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005.
