A goal in the dying stages of the game by Waleed Al Gizani sent Al Shabab through to the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League with a 3 – 2 win over Esteghlal.

Al Shabab took the lead in the 23rd minute through Faisal Al Sultan only for Siavash Akbarpour to equalise through a penalty a minute later.

Esteghlal then took the lead in the 32nd minute through Hossein Kazemi but Tarik El Taib drew Al Shabab level in the 48th minute.

With only a few minutes to go, Al Gizani entered the game and scored a last minute winner for Al Shabab.

Al Shabab opened the scoring after 23 minutes when a ball into the box fell kindly for Al Sultan, who shrugged off the challenge of a defender before clinically finish into the back of the net.

Esteghlal were immediately level when Farhad Majidi was won a penalty for being brought down in the box. Akbarpour made no mistake from the penalty spot.

The visitors then took the lead just after the half-hour mark when Majidi fed a pass to Kazemi who took advantage of a defensive error by Abdullah Shuhail to fire beyond Waleed Abdullah from close range.

Al Shabab drew level early in the 2nd half when El Taib controlled the ball with his back to goal, turning and shooting past the keeper.

That goal gave Al Shabab the confidence to go forward and Al Sultan drilled a shot against the left upright. Flavio was just denied on the 70 minute mark by the boot of a defender.

Abdullah kept his side level seconds later when he superbly palmed away Kazemi’s point-blank header before the woodwork denied Esteghlal with 10 minutes remaining when Majidi’s low shot struck the post.

But the hosts advanced to the final eight when substitute Al Gizani headed home the winner from a nice chip coming in from the right hand side of the goals.