Naif Hazazi netted a hat-trick as Al Ittihad secured top spot in Group C in emphatic style with a 7-0 demolition of Umm Salal at the Prince Abdullah Stadium.

The win ensured the Jeddah side of a home match in the last 16 against the runners-up of Group B while Umm Salal will visit the winners of Group A.

The hosts went ahead after nine minute when the Umm Salal defence failed to deal with Osama Al Harbi’s long throw-in, which was flicked into the heart of the box where Renato lashed the ball past a helpless Baba Malick from close range.

Renato proved a constant thorn in the side of the Umm Salal defence throughout the evening and set up his side’s second in the 17th minute with a cross from the left into the six-yard box that picked out an unmarked Hazizi, who scored with a half-volley.

The Brazilian also set up the third in the 25th minute, controlling the ball on the edge of the box and eluding a couple of half-hearted challenges before feeding Hazizi, who stretched to fire a right-footed shot past Malick.

Al Ittihad should have made it 4-0 in the 41st minute when a Mohammed Noor corner was flicked on to a completely unmarked Abdulaziz Al Sibyani but Malek made a save to deny the striker at point blank range.

Umm Salal rarely threatened and their best opportunity fell to Fabio Cesar who fired a free-kick wide in the 43rd minute.

Hazizi completed his hat-trick seven minutes after the interval when he rose high above the Umm Salal defence to meet Renato’s cross from the left and sent a towering header into the net.

Al Saqri made it 5-0 with a deflected shot in the 56th minute that wrong-footed Malick and Al Meshal was on hand in the 77th minute to tuck away the loose ball after Malick could only parry a Renato effort from the edge of the box.

The Brazilian capped a magnificent personal performance with five minutes remaining when he capitalised on poor defending by Walid Dorzadeh to poke home his side’s seventh goal.