Akram Afif rose up to the occasion as the Wolves secured their first quarterfinal berth in six years.
Qatari side Al Sadd secured a spot in the last eight in Asia for the first time since 2019 with a splendid comeback win against UAE’s Al Wasl at home on Monday evening.
The defending Qatar Stars League champions registered a 3-1 win, overturning an early deficit as Moustafa Mashal, Youcef Atal and Akram Afif scored within eleven minutes of each other at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.
Al Sadd last played in the quarterfinals of the continental tournament, now revamped as the AFC Champions League Elite, in the 2019 season with former Barcelona midfielder Xavi as the head coach.
“It has been a while since we reached this stage, so we needed this victory,” said Afif, who was later adjudged the player of the match for his assist and a goal.
“Al-Wasl started well and scored an early goal. However, we didn’t give up and responded with three fantastic goals.”
Fabio Lima had put the UAE side in the lead with a 10th minute goal to reignite Al Wasl’s hopes of upsetting the hosts, after a 1-1 stalemate in Dubai had pitted the Doha clash to be a decider.
Holding on to the lead in front of a pulsating supporters, however, did not prove easy as Mashal converted Afif’s pass just 16 minutes later to level the tie yet again.
Much like the first leg, the group stage tie had been a 1-1 tie, yet Felix Sanchez’s side had other ideas this time around.
Looking to avenge the 1-0 defeat suffered at the Qatar-UAE Super Cup earlier in January, Al Sadd then marauded past Al Wasl to seal the tie within the first half itself.
Algerian full-back Atal’s ball attempted cross from the byline ended up in Khaled Al-Senani’s net after taking a deflection to turn the tie around within just four minutes.
It was then that Afif came to life with a scintillating finish on the top corner in the 37th minute to seal the tie.
The talismanic forward took a short freekick for a quick one-two with Brazilian midfielder Claudinho before putting the ball beyond Al-Senani’s reach from outside the box.
“We controlled the game and delivered an excellent performance against a strong Al-Wasl side,” head coach Sanchez said of his side’s performance after the match.
The win comes as a relief for Sanchez as a shaky domestic start had put pressure on the Spanish coach to deliver on the continental stage.
While Al Sadd started strong in Asia, remaining unbeaten until the final game in the group stage, a loss at home against Al Ahli Saudi and a string of draws before that had caused concerns of a potential derail.
Monday’s performance at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, however, have momentarily put those concerns at bay.
“We are progressing step by step, aiming to go as far as possible,” Sanchez said of the road ahead. “Now, we are among the top eight teams in Asia, and we will give our best in the next rounds.”
Other Qatari side Al Rayyan will have a tenuous challenge of overturning a 3-1 deficit away at Al Ahli Saudi if they are to join Al Sadd in the final eight.
The competition will now head towards Jeddah, where the quarterfinals will be held in last week of April, with the finale set to be held on May 4.
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