DOHA – The UAE’s Al Ahli stunned Iran’s Naft Tehran with Lima’s 62nd minute goal giving them a 1-0 first leg win to boost their semi-final chances in the AFC Champions League yesterday
At the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, former Benfica player scored the only goal of the match with a diving header to give the Emiratis the upper hand ahead of their quarter-final second leg on September 16 in Dubai. Al Ahli are aiming to become only the second UAE side to win the lucrative tournament after Al Ain claimed the inaugural title in 2003.
Naft Tehran had their chances but were constantly under pressure from Al Ahli, especially in the second half, and conceded the advantage just after the one hour mark when Brazilian Lima came up with a fine header after the ball was flicked into the six-yard box by Walid Abbas off a corner taken by Everton Ribeiro.
Earlier on Wednesday, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Gamba Osaka played out a scoreless draw in the first leg in Seoul.
In an entertaining match, Jeonbuk captain Lee Dong-Gook missed the best opportunity of the game midway through the second half, turning the ball narrowly wide of an open goal
The teams will meet again in the return match in Japan also on September 16, with the winners advancing to meet either Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande or Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol in the semi-finals.
Guangzhou are in firm control of that tie after a 3-1 win at Kashiwa in the first leg on Tuesday.
Jeonbuk won a 3-2 thriller when they last hosted Gamba in the competition nine years ago and the Korean side dominated possession in the opening half, outshooting their opponents by a wide margin.
However, they could not find a way through the visitors’ defence with Lee, the competition’s all-time leading scorer with 27 goals, missing their best chance just before half-time when he headed Choi Chul-Soon’s cross narrowly wide.
