Ronaldo, Duran fire Al Nassr into AFC Champions League quarter-finals

A first-half brace from Jhon Duran and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty secured Al Nassr’s place in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals with a commanding 3-0 victory over Esteghlal at Al Awwal Park on Monday.

Duran, a winter signing from English Premier League club Aston Villa, opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a brilliant chip over Esteghlal goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini, marking his first goal in the competition.

Al Nassr doubled their lead in the 27th minute when former Liverpool forward Sadio Mané was brought down inside the box by Zobeir Niknafs. Ronaldo, who returned to the starting lineup after being rested for the first leg in Iran, calmly converted from the spot to take his tally to seven goals in this year’s competition.

Esteghlal’s hopes of a comeback suffered a further setback just before half-time when Mehran Ahmadi was sent off for a second yellow card after catching Mohammed Al Fatil with a stray arm.

Al Nassr continued their dominance after the break, with Duran hitting the crossbar before sealing his brace in the 64th minute, slotting a low shot past Hosseini after being set up by former Chelsea winger Angelo.

With the win, Al Nassr joined Al Hilal and Al Ittihad in the last eight, ensuring a strong Saudi presence in the knockout stages.

Meanwhile, in the other fixture of the night, Qatari giants Al Sadd progressed with a 4-2 aggregate victory over UAE champions Al Wasl. Held 1-1 in the first leg, Al Sadd overcame an early setback after Fabio Lima put Al Wasl ahead. However, a quickfire response saw Mostafa Meshaal, Youcef Atal, and reigning Asian Player of the Year Akram Afif score within ten minutes to seal their passage.

The draw for the quarter-finals is set to take place later this week.