By Michael Church
Feb 18 (Reuters) – Iran’s Esteghlal qualified for the last 16 of the Asian Champions League Elite when a 2-0 win over Al-Rayyan of Qatar on Tuesday ensured the Tehran-based side advanced at the expense of compatriots and bitter rivals Persepolis.
Substitute Alireza Koushki set up Mohammad Azadi’s 46th minute opener and scored Esteghlal’s second 23 minutes later to take his side up to sixth in the 12-team west Asian standings, forcing Persepolis out of the eight qualification places.
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal ensured they finished top of the standings with a 2-0 win over Al-Wasl from the United Arab Emirates and Jorge Jesus’ side will take on eighth-placed Pakhtakor in the next round over two legs in March.
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The completion of the league phase means the lineup for the knockout rounds for the west Asian half of the draw is set, with Saudi Pro League clubs in the first three spots in the table.
Second-placed Al-Ahli will take on Al-Rayyan, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr face Esteghlal. Qatar’s Al Sadd will meet Al-Wasl, with games to be played on March 3 or 4 and the return matches held one week later.
The quarter-finals, semis and final will be played in a centralised format featuring clubs from west and east Asia in Saudi Arabia in late April and early May.
Esteghlal went into their meeting with already-qualified hosts Al-Rayyan knowing a draw would be enough to climb into the top eight and Sohrab Bakhtiarzadeh’s side went in front soon after halftime.
Koushki drove towards the byline as the Al-Rayyan defence hesitated and Azadi forced his team mate’s cross over the line with his chest.
The Iranians doubled the lead in the 69th minute when they launched a counter-attack from deep, Koushki taking advantage of inept attempts to dispossess him by Andre Amaro and Julien De Sart to score past Paulo Victor.
Al-Hilal secured top spot with victory over Al-Wasl, their seventh win in eight matches as Jesus’ side finished with an unbeaten record in the group phase.
Marcos Leonardo scored from close range in the 13th minute and captain Salem Al-Dawsari added the second four minutes into the second half after a return pass from Abdullah Al-Hamddan.
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Ken Ferris)
