Lekhwiya's Youssef Msakni (left) scores their second goal against Saudi Arabia's Al Fateh during the AFC Champions League football match played at the Abdullah bin Khalifa stadium in Doha yesterday. Lekhwiya registered an emphatic 4-1 win to confirm them
A three-goal blitz within a span of 18 minutes paved the way for unbeaten Lekhwiya to register an emphatic 4-1 win over Al Fateh in the AFC Champions League Group B match played at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha yesterday.
With yesterday’s win, Lekhwiya confirm themselves as Group B leaders.
Victory ensured the Qatar Stars League side finished the group phase with an unbeaten record and they will now meet Iran’s Persepolis, who finished as runners-up in Group D, in the Round of 16 later this month.
Mohammed Musa gave his side the lead after just nine minutes before further goals from Yousef Msakni, Ali Hassan Afif and Chico Flores inside the opening 45 minutes effectively ended the game as a contest, with Flores’ late own goal merely a consolation for the eliminated Al Fateh.
The Saudi Arabian outfit never recovered from the early jolt, conceding goals at regular interval to go down to the Qatar Stars League side.
The home team struck first through Musa as his right footed drive from close range ended into the nets.
Eleven minutes later, Msakni finished off a move started by Nam Tae-hee.
Tae-hee had a hand in the third goal and he let Afif do the damage with elegant drive from outside the box, which ended in the top left corner.
The Qatar Stars League champions continued to pick holes in the rival defense. Djamel Belmadi’s side added a fourth one in the added-on injury time of the first half.
Flores completed a move started by Afif to make it 4-0.
Thereafter, in the second half, Lekhwiya could not add more goals.
Much against the run of play, Flores ended by scoring an own goal of a flag kick with three minutes to go for the final whistle.
In the other match, substitute Mehdi Zobeidi headed home a late equaliser as Esteghlal Khouzestan claimed a 1-1 draw with Al Jazira and progressed to the 2017 AFC Champions League Round of 16 as Group B runners-up.
Esteghlal Khouzestan needed just a point to advance to the knockout round, but Humaid Ahmed gave the visitors the lead shortly before the interval at Ghadir Stadium when he found the back of the net from outside the area to give the bottom side hope of a first win of the campaign. The hosts came back strongly after the restart but Ali Khaseif proved hard to beat in the Al Jazira goal until, with just four minutes remaining, Zobeidi rose highest to head home Hassan Beit Saeid’s cross from the right.
With table-toppers Lekhwiya seeing off third-placed Al Fateh 4-1 in the other Group B game of the night, Esteghlal Khouzestan, who will next play Group D winners Al Hilal in the last 16, would have advanced regardless of the outcome. Al Jazira, meanwhile, finished bottom of the standings.
