Al Nassr: Al Nassr Club of Saudi Arabia scored thrice in 11 first half minutes to take their place in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League Elite Finals after defeating Japan's Yokohama F. Marinos 4-1 in their last eight tie on Saturday. Jhon Duran netted two with Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane bagging one each as the Saudi Arabian side set up a last four meeting with either Japan's Kawasaki Frontale or Al Sadd SC of Qatar on Wednesday, the AFC website reported.
According to Qatar News Agency, the match got off to a slow start with Marcelo Brozovic's effort off a Ronaldo backheel pass - which Park Il-gyu pushed out - the only highlight of the opening 20 minutes. Al Nassr then missed a good opportunity in the 22nd minute when Sultan Al Ghannam fed Duran in the box, only for the Colombian to slice his shot wide but the forward redeemed himself five minutes later.
Mane was given space to deliver a cross from the left, with Thomas Deng miskicking the ball onto the post, with Duran slotting home the rebound from close range. Buoyed by the goal, Al Nassr pressed harder and doubled their lead in the 31st minute with a surging Otavio laying the ball off for Mane to apply a low finish past Park.
It was one-way traffic with Al Nassr striking again in the 38th minute - Brozovic's shot took a deflection off Riku Yamane which keeper Park did well to tip away but the ball fell kindly for Ronaldo to smash home his eighth goal of the campaign. Marinos head coach Patrick Kisnorbo made attacking changes after the interval, sending on Kouta Watanabe, Kenta Inoue and Anderson Lopes but it did not have the impact he was seeking as the Japanese side went further behind on 48 minutes.
Otavio picked out Ali Hassan's run on the left but the midfielder's curling shot was palmed away by Park only for Duran to once again pounce on the rebound. Marinos looked for a way back into the game and managed to pull a goal back five minutes later when Lopes cushioned a pass for Watanabe to side foot past an unsighted Bento Krepski.
Their hopes of a comeback, however, were crushed in the 73rd minute after Watanabe picked up a second yellow card for bringing down Aiman Yahya during a counter attack as Al Nassr comfortably closed out the match.