Doha: A late goal by Esmail Mohammad secured 10-man Lekhwiya a 2-2 draw with fellow Qatari side Al Sadd to win 4-3 on aggregate and move into the Asian Champions League quarter-finals for the second successive season on Tuesday.
Lekhwiya had a 2-1 advantage from the first leg in this all-Qatar round of 16 clash, played at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha.
Lekhwiya looked set to cruise to victory when they opened the scoring through Youssef Msakni in the 13th minute.
But they were knocked out of their stride in the 34th minute when defender Ahmad Yasser was sent off for a second bookable offence for a foul on Khalfan Ebrahim.
Brazilian star Muriqui scored with a great strike from the resultant free-kick and the tone of the match completely changed.
It was all Al Sadd after that as Lekhwiya tried to desperately defend their precious one-goal advantage.
However, Al Sadd breached their opponents’ defences in the 63rd minute, midfielder Ali Asadalla scoring with a calm and composed finish into the far corner after a great pass by Nadir Belhadj from the left wing.
Lekhwiya coach Michael Laudrup then pulled a rabbit out of the hat as he brought on Mohammad to replace Slovakian winger Vladimir Weiss in the 64th minute.
The winning move sprang from a failed Al Sadd attack. Lekhwiya skipper Karim Boudiaf made a run down the left flank and crossed to Mohammad, who controlled the ball with his right foot and then fired the killer shot with his left.
In the late match, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal produced a clinical performance to defeat Iranian outfit Persepolis 3-0 — 3-1 on aggregate — and progress to the quarter-finals for the fourth time.
Earlier, Yusuke Kobayashi netted a crucial second-half goal as Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol staved off a comeback by Suwon Samsung FC to reach the quarter-finals for the second time in three years.
Kashiwa held a 3-2 lead from the first leg in South Korea, but goals by Chong Te-se and Koo Ja-ryong put Suwon ahead on aggregate, before Kobayashi struck in the 65th minute to level things up at 4-4 and send Kashiwa through on away goals.
There was better fortune for another Korean side as a 72nd minute goal by Brazilian striker Edu saw Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors beat Beijing Guoan 1-0 in China to advance 2-1 on aggregate.
