Ronaldo scores as Al Nassr progress in Asian Champions League
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr advanced to the Asian Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday, defeating fellow Saudi Pro League club Al-Fayha 2-0 to complete a 3-0 aggregate victory.
Portugal winger Otavio scored in the 17th minute to add to last week's 1-0 victory before Ronaldo added a late second, and Al-Nassr will face Al-Ain after Hernan Crespo's side defeated Uzbekistan's Nasaf with an injury-time winner from Soufiane Rahimi.
Following a scoreless first leg, the UAE side rallied after falling behind to Akmal Mozgovoy's close-range strike in the 51st minute to equalise four minutes later with Kodjo Laba's acrobatic effort.
The game appeared to be heading for extra time when Rahimi took advantage of Nasaf goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov's poor attempt to punch clear to score the winning goal for the hosts two minutes into added time.
The 2003 champions will face Al-Nassr in the next round, after Otavio headed their opener through goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic's legs following Abdullah Al Khaibari's angled ball into the penalty area.
Ronaldo came close to adding a second when his header clipped the post in the 37th minute, but the former Real Madrid forward did score with four minutes left, slotting into an empty net after beating Stojkovic to a late punt.
Earlier in the day, Anderson Lopes' 122nd-minute penalty gave Yokohama F Marinos a last-gasp 1-0 win over Bangkok United, securing a 3-2 victory and a quarter-final meeting with China's Shandong Taishan for Harry Kewell's team.
Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea also advanced to the next round, defeating Japanese second division side Ventforet Kofu 2-1 to complete a 5-1 aggregate victory.
Ulsan extended their 3-0 first-leg lead in the 12th minute when Kim Ji-hyun scored with an instinctive finish from close range after Um Wong-san's shot rebounded off the post.
Kazushi Mitsuhiro headed in an 88th-minute corner to tie the game, but Joo Min-kyu scored four minutes into injury time to confirm Ulsan's quarter-final clash with Jeonbuk Motors, who defeated Pohang Steelers on Tuesday.
Saudi champions Al-Ittihad will face Uzbekistan's Navbahor in Jeddah on Thursday after a scoreless draw in their first meeting, while Al-Hilal leads 3-1 into their second leg against Iran's Sepahan in Riyadh.
SportsLigue