Bader Al Motawaa scored twice as Al Nassr thrashed Pakhtakor 4-0 at King Fahd International Stadium and put themselves in pole position to join Al Sadd in the last 16 of the 2011 AFC Champions League from Group B.
The home side took the lead with just seven minutes on the clock when Hamoud met Khaled Asiri’s cross from the left with a superb diving header from six yards out that left keeper Nikita Ribkin no chance.
Stanislav Andreev saw a free-kick dip just over the …

Al Gharafa kept their 2011 AFC Champions League hopes alive with an emphatic 5-2 victory over Al Jazira at Al Gharafa Stadium.
Al Gharafa threatened first and Ahmed Fares saw a long-range shot curl just over the bar with Al Jazira keeper Ali Kashief beaten after four minutes.
A minute later, Al Gharafa striker Mahmood saw a header fly narrowly over the top but he gave his side the lead in the 10th minute thanks to an error from Kashief.
The Al Jazira keeper took too long over …

Tianjin Teda became the first team from Group E to qualify for the last 16 of the 2011 AFC Champions League thanks to a 3-0 win over Jeju United at Tianjin Teda Stadium on Wednesday.
Argentinian striker Luciano Olguin headed the hosts in front seven minutes in before Wu Weian doubled the advantage when he tucked home a rebound midway through the first-half.
Cao Yang converted a penalty 19 minutes before the final whistle to seal a comfortable victory for the runners-up of the Chinese Super …

Two goals from Dejan Damjanovic helped FC Seoul to a 3-0 win over Al Ain on Wednesday that booked the K-League team a place in the second round of the 2011 AFC Champions League.
An early opener from Go Yo-han laid the platform for the Montenegrin international to score a goal in each half and send 23, 623 fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium home happy as the Korea Republic champions reached the knockout stage for the second time in three years.
The only issue remaining …

Melbourne scored first through Adrian Leijer on 12 minutes but Sota Nakazawa, with his second goal of the campaign, leveled things just before half time.
Tellingly, both goals came from defenders as the result of corners in a match where both sides’ attackers wasted plenty of chances.
Melbourne began the match playing much of the attacking football and Carlos Hernandez provided the first threat, flashing a free kick past the goal in the third minute.
The Costa Rican continued to provide much of Melbourne’s impetus and he was involved heavily in the build-up …

Nagoya Grampus sealed a place in the round of 16 in the 2011 AFC Champions League after Jungo Fujimoto’s second-half penalty clinched a 1-0 win over Hangzhou Greentown at Mizuho Athletic Stadium in Nagoya.
Without key players Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Mu Kanzaki and Josh Kennedy, Nagoya struggled to find their rhythm, particularly going forward.
Hangzhou failed to create much and their only chance over the first 45 minutes came just before the half-hour mark when Sebastian Vazquez fired a free-kick from midrange that was not good enough to trouble Nagoya goalkeeper Seigo …

Al Shabab took the upper hand in the battle for second place in Group D of the 2011 AFC Champions League as Nassir Al Shamrani’s crucial goal 14 minutes from time was enough to see off Al Rayyan 1-0 at King Fahd International Stadium.
In a largely uneventful game, the forward broke the deadlock in the 76th minute when he met Camacho’s excellent cross to head home from close range.
Despite turning in an average performance, Al Shabab still dominated much of the match and Al Shamrani should have put his side …

Mohammad Ghazi’s goal 10 minutes from the end of the game gave Zob Ahan a 1-0 win away at Emirates and clinched top spot in Group D of the 2011 AFC Champions League.
Last year’s runners-up recorded their fourth win in five group games, while Emirates’ chances of advancing to the next round suffered a severe blow.
Emirates, second behind Zob Ahan and looking to make it a third consecutive win at home, were without star striker Nabil Daoudi while key defenders Hadef Saif Al Zaabi and Mustafa Al Saedi sat out …

Al Sadd staged a thrilling comeback on Wednesday as they rallied from 2-0 deficit to hold Esteghlal in a key 2011 AFC Champions League clash.
Al Sadd, leaders of Group B before the start of the match at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, dominated most of the opening half but were behind at the break after visiting skipper Farhad Majidi struck twice.
However, Al Sadd turned it around in the second period with Khalfan Ibrahim and substitute Hasan Haydos both on target.
The draw was enough to keep Al Sadd at the top of …

Piroozi beat Al Ittihad 3-2 to end the Saudi Arabian team’s unbeaten record in the 2011 AFC Champions League and boost their own flagging hopes of place in the knockout stages.
Hamidreza Aliasgari stuck in the 14th minute before a second goal from Shpejtim Arifi two minutes later was cancelled out by Mohammed Al Rashed’s firm header in the first-half.
Aliasgari extended Piroozi’s lead in the 69th minute before the visitors pulled one back through a stoppage-time own goal from Sekou Berthe.
Piroozi came close to taking the lead after four minutes through …

Bunyodkor moved to within touching distance of the last 16 in the 2011 AFC Champions League as Milos Trifunovic’s double saw the Uzbeks edge out Al Wahda 3-2 in an entertaining clash at the JAR Stadium.
Ismaeil Matar had given the visitors a shock second-minute lead but Trifunovic levelled nine minutes later before giving Bunyodkor a half-time lead.
Hugo equalised from the spot early in the second-half for Al Wahda but Anvarjon Soliev’s header six minutes from time sealed the points for Mirjalal Kasimov’s side.
Both teams came into the game looking for …

Suwon Samsung Bluewings booked their place in the second round of the 2011 AFC Champions League with a 3-1 victory over Sydney FC at Suwon World Cup Stadium.
Despite Sydney’s need for victory, Suwon started brightly and almost took the lead in the 15th minute when a long, floated free-kick by Park Jong-jin from just past the halfway line found Kwak Hee-joo near the penalty spot but the visitors were relieved to see the central defender’s looping header bounce off the top of the crossbar.
Just as Sydney were looking more comfortable, …

Cerezo Osaka secured the three points they needed to keep their 2011 AFC Champions League chances alive with an emphatic 4-0 win over Arema Indonesia.
Goals from Hiroshi Kiyotake, Rodrigo Pimpao, Yusuke Maruhashi and Takushi Inui secured a one-sided win for the visitors, who moved level at the top of Group G to give themselves a fighting chance of progressing in the competition.
They did not have it all their own way in the early stages, though, as the home side looked lively in what turned out to be their best spell …

Shinzo Koroki scored twice as Kashima Antlers closed in on a place in the last 16 of the 2011 AFC Champions League with a 2-0 win over Shanghai Shenhua at the National Stadium in Tokyo.
Kashima took a lead in the 32nd minute when Koroki got on the end of a Mitsuo Ogasawara free-kick before the 24-year-old forward finished from close range following Fellype Gabriel’s shot with 10 minutes to go.
Kashima goalkeeper Hitoshi Sogahata also made some fine saves to help his side collect three points.
With …

AL GHARAFA (QAT) v AL JAZIRA (UAE) (5 – 2) (FT)
SEPAHAN (IRN) v AL HILAL (KSA) (1 – 1) (FT)
AL NASSR (KSA) v PAKHTAKOR (UZB) (4 – 0) (FT)
TIANJIN TEDA (CHN) v JEJU UNITED (KOR)(3-0) (FT)
NAGOYA GRAMPUS (JPN) v HANGZHOU GREENTOWN (CHN) (1 – 0) (FT)
PIROOZI ATHLETIC (IRN) v AL ITTIHAD (KSA) (3 – 2) (FT)
BUNYODKOR (UZB) v AL WAHDA (UAE) (3 – 2) (FT)
SHANDONG LUNENG FC (CHN) v JEONBUK HYUNDAI MOTORS (KOR) (1 – 2) (FT)
SUWON SAMSUNG BLUEWINGS (KOR) v SYDNEY FC (AUS) (3 – 1) (FT)
AREMA MALANG (IDN) …

Melbourne Victory resuscitated their 2011 AFC Champions League dreams with a 2-1 win over Group E leaders Tianjin Teda at Docklands Stadium.
The home side scored two goals in three minutes on the stroke of half-time to secure their first win in this season’s competition and provide interim coach Mehmet Durakovic his maiden success in charge, although Surat Sukha was sent-off with eight minutes to go.

It was a result Durakovic will look back on fondly after Victory trailed 1-0 following Chen Tao’s fantastic solo effort for the Chinese visitors after 37 …

Kawasaki Frontale have battled back from the brink to give themselves a shot at qualification for the last 16 of the AFC Champions League. The J-League side visit Beijing Gouan on the final matchday only one point behind the Chinese Super League team and the winner of that tie will take their place alongside Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in the knockouts.

Frontale were off to a flyer and were two goals to the good by the 20 minute mark. Hiroyuki Taniguchi opened the scoring after five minutes and Yusuke Tasaka doubled the lead 15 minutes after. That was the way it remained until the 79th minute when Renatinho added a third for a rejuvenated Kawasaki, who lost to Melbourne in their last outing.

Four teams qualified for the AFC Champions League 2010 last 16 on Match Day 5 Tuesday with more looking to join the fray on Wednesday.
Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Gamba Osaka (Japan), Adelaide United (Australia) and Pohang Steelers (Korea Republic) made sure of their places in the Round of 16 on Tuesday. The Saudis also became the first West team to progress past the group stages.
Already qualified before MD5 were Korea Republic’s Jeonbuk Motors, Seongnam Ilhwa, Suwon Bluewings and Kashima Antlers, of Japan.

CHANGCHUN YATAI FC (CHN) vs KASHIMA ANTLERS (JPN) (0 – 1) (FT)
MELBOURNE VICTORY (AUS) vs BEIJING GUOAN (CHN) (0 – 0) (FT)

KAWASAKI FRONTALE (JPN) vs SEONGNAM ILHWA FC (KOR) (3 – 0) (FT)
JEONBUK MOTORS (KOR) vs PERSIPURA JAYAPURA (IDN) (8 – 0) (FT)

Group G
Gamba Osaka 2-1 Suwon Samsung Bluewings
A last minute strike by Takashi Usami, assured Gamba Osaka first place in Group G.
Gamba started the game in second position, 2 points behind Suwon, who had also yet to lose a game.
Suwon scored first in the 58th minute through Jose Mota, his fifth goal of the competition.
However, the Koreans were pegged back only three minutes later by Takahiro Futagawa.
Scores remained at 1-1 until injury time when the 17-year-old Usami netted the winner.
Gamba now lead the group with …