•Cristiano Ronaldo
A Cristiano Ronaldo penalty and a double from Jhon Duran fired Al Nassr into the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday, with a 3-0 second leg win over Esteghlal.
Ronaldo, the Al Nassr captain, was reportedly rested for last week’s goalless draw in the first leg in Iran, however returned to lead the side at Al Awwal Park, reports AFP.
Ronaldo scored from the spot midway through the first half.
Al Nassr, one of three Saudi Arabian sides to dominate the west region’s group stage, needed only nine minutes to take the lead in Riyadh.
Duran, a winter signing from English Premier League side Aston Villa, picked up a loose ball on the right edge of the Esteghlal penalty area and floated a superb chip over goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini.
It marked the striker’s first goal in the competition.
Al Nassr doubled their advantage on 27 minutes after Sadio Mane, a UEFA Champions League winner with Liverpool, drew a foul from rival midfielder Zobeir Niknafs inside the Esteghlal box.
Ronaldo casually stroked the spot-kick into the centre of the net to take his tally in this year’s Champions League Elite to seven goals in six appearances.
The Portuguese star is the leading scorer in this season’s Saudi Pro League, with 18 goals.
Esteghlal’s night got even worse just before half-time when they were reduced to 10 men when Mehran Ahmadi inadvertently caught Al Nassr defender Mohammed Al Fatil with a stray arm in the face while trying to shield the ball.
VAR upgraded the foul to a yellow card and, with Ahmadi having earlier been booked, he was promptly sent off.
Al Nassr went close to adding a third at the beginning of the second half. First, Duran had an effort saved only for Ayman Yahya’s rebound to be cleared off the line.
Minutes later, Duran thumped the Esteghlal crossbar with a shot from distance.
The Al Nassr forward would not be denied his second, though, dragging a low shot inside the near post after being teed up by former Chelsea winger Angelo.
In yesterday’s other match, two-time Asian champions Al Sadd booked their place in the last eight with a 4-2 aggregate victory against UAE champions Al Wasl.
The visitors, held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Dubai one week earlier, took an early through Fabio Lima.
However, Al Sadd replied with three goals in 10 minutes from just before the half hour, with Mostafa Meshaal, Youcef Atal and Akram Afif finding the net. Afif is the reigning Asian Player of the Year.
