Doha: Qatar’s Al Sadd were among a trio of former champions to make the last 16 of the Asian Champions League on Tuesday after a fine strike by Brazilian forward Muriqui gave them a 1-0 win over Iran’s Foolad Kozuestan in Doha.
The 2011 champions joined 1991 and 2000 winners Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia and top Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande, who took the crown in 2013.
Al Sadd, who finished second behind Lekhwiya in the Qatar Stars League that concluded last week, were unlucky to score only one goal in a fairly entertaining game at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
But that was enough to give them 10 points from five matches in Group C, the same as Al Hilal, who beat Uzbekistan’s Lokomotiv 2-1 earlier in the day in Tashkent.
The two teams will meet on May 5 to decide the group winners, while Foolad Kouzestan and Lokomotiv will play no further part in the competition.
Meanwhile, Al Hilal advanced from Group C after the Saudi club beat Lokomotiv 2-1 thanks to second-half goals by Nawaf Al Abid and Abdullah Zori.
Earlier, Fabio Cannavaro’s Guangzhou needed only a 0-0 draw against FC Seoul to qualify top of Group H and reach the knockouts alongside Suwon Samsung, but Western Sydney Wanderers’ title defence was left hanging by a thread.
The Wanderers suffered a harsh blow when Mu Kanazaki scored in injury time to secure a 2-1, come-from-behind win that dragged Kashima Antlers off the foot of the table.
With one group game left, against Guangzhou, the Australian side are now bottom of Group H, a point adrift of FC Seoul and Kashima and with their grip on the title slipping.
The Wanderers won the competition in a fairy-tale debut last year and they seemed to have kept their unconvincing trophy defence alive with Nikita Rukavystya’s strike on 24 minutes.
But Kashima pressed relentlessly for the equaliser and they got their breakthrough on 66 minutes, when Shoma Doi curled home a priceless goal which kept them in the competition.
Kashima kept on coming and they were rewarded with a deserved win when Kanazaki converted Shuto Yamamoto’s penetrating cross in the first minute of injury time.
In Group G, Brazilian substitute Kaio grabbed a late winner as Suwon eliminated Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1 and advanced to the knockout rounds.
Zlatan Ljubijankic put Urawa ahead after 69 minutes, but Ko Cha-won headed the two-time Asian Club Championship winners level before Kaio’s clincher two minutes from time.
Beijing Guoan could have joined Suwon in the knockout rounds but they lost 1-0 at home to Australian champions Brisbane Roar, through Andrija Kaluderovic’s goal in the first half.
