AFC Champions League: Al Ain overcomes Al Nassr on penalties and qualifies for the semi-finals

The Emirati club Al Ain qualified for the semi-finals after defeating Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia by a 3-1 penalty shootout after Al-Nasr advanced 4-3 on Monday at Al Awal Park Stadium in Riyadh, in the second leg of the 2023-2024 AFC Champions League quarter-finals.

In normal time, Al Ain took the lead through goals from Sufyan Rahimi in the 28th and 45th minutes, before Al Nassr responded with three goals through Abdul Rahman Gharib (45+5), Al Ain goalkeeper Khaled Issa (51, own goal), and Alex Telles (72).

Then in extra time, Al Ain took the lead through Sultan Al Shamsi (103), but Al Nassr came back to equalize through Cristiano Ronaldo (118 from a penalty kick).

The first leg between the two teams last Monday witnessed Al Ain winning 1-0 at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain. The two teams tied 4-4 on aggregate and penalty kicks were resorted to.

In the penalty shootout, Al Ain scored three goals from three attempts, while Al Nasr scored one goal from four attempts.

In the group stage, Al-Nasr topped the fifth group standings with 14 points from six matches, compared to 8 points for Iran’s Persepolis, 7 for Qatar’s Al-Duhail, and 3 for Tajik’s Esteghlal. Then it won in the round of 16 over its compatriot Al-Fayhaa, 3-0 on aggregate.

On the other hand, Al Ain topped the standings of the first group with 15 points from six matches, compared to 9 points for Al-Fayhaa of Saudi Arabia, 7 for Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan and 4 for Al-Ahal Al-Turkman, and won in the round of 16 over Nasaf of Uzbekistan by 2-1 on aggregate of the two matches.