Nam Tae-hee continued to torment regional opponents as he powered Lekhwiya into the last 16 of the lucrative Asian Champions League with a 3-1 victory over the UAE’s Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
The South Korean star, whose stellar performances for the Qatar Stars League champions this season has become the stuff of legend, struck twice to give Lekhwiya their third win in five matches in Group B which they top with 11 points and one game remaining.
On the eve of the match, Nam had spoken of his ambition to win the Asian title and his personal form would be a great advantage for his team when they take on tougher opponents in the knockout phase.
“It felt great to score the two goals and once again help Lekhwiya win,” the 25-year-old Korean told journalists after the match.
“Now we must focus harder on the job at hand which is to secure a spot in the quarter-finals. Anything is possible from now on,” he added.
Lekhwiya are trying to emulate Al Sadd who won the tournament in 2011 with an amazing run that saw them beat Jeonbuk Hyundai in the final.
Lekhwiya made a positive start and posed plenty of problems for the Emiratis but it was the hosts who scored first when Chico Flores brought down Khalfan Mubarak and midfielder Mbark Boussoufa scored from the spot in the 17th minute.
 But Nam put his side on level terms 10 minutes later with a successful penalty of his own after Almoez Ali was fouled by Mussalem Fayez.
 Lekhwiya, who had beaten Al Jazira 3-0 in Doha, continued pressing for the lead and were rewarded in the 62nd minute when Nam pounced on a through ball by Youssef Msakni and netted left-footed.
 Msakni put the result beyond doubt in the 77th minute from the centre of the box following an assist from Khalid Muftah.
 Also in Group B, a spectacular injury-time overhead kick from Salman Bahrani secured a 1-1 draw for Esteghlal Khouzestan against Saudi Arabia’s Al Fateh.
 Al Fateh appeared heading for victory after substitute Ali al-Zaqan had struck in the 85th minute.
 The point kept the Iranians in second spot on eight points.
 In Group A, Esteghlal of Iran and the UAE’s Al Ahli were involved in a 1-1 draw that moved both sides to the brink of qualification with eight points each.
 Lokomotiv of Uzbekistan and Al Tawoon of Saudi Arabia drew 4-4 and are stuck on five points.
Meanwhile, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Guangzhou Evergrande crushed Hong Kong’s Eastern 6-0 as they ruthlessly ousted the debutants and their trailblazing female coach from the AFC Champions League.
 Paulinho and Alan both grabbed doubles to bury Eastern, whose coach Chan Yuen-ting, nicknamed ‘Beef Ball’, had become the first woman worldwide to lead a professional men’s team into continental competition.
 Chan’s Eastern, whose Champions League introduction was a 7-0 hammering away to Evergrande in February, lie bottom of Group G with one point from five games and no chance of reaching the last 16.
 Evergrande, the two-time Asian champions and winners of the last six Chinese Super League titles, stay second but they will have to beat Suwon Samsung Bluewings in their last game to guarantee progression.

Results
Group A

 Lokomotiv (UZB) 4 (Bikmaev 21, 32-pen, 47, Masharipov 81) Al Tawoon (KSA) 4 (Al-Swat 18, Al-Hussain 65, N’Dyiaye 69, Machado 90+1)
Esteghlal (IRI) 1 (Rezeai 58) Al Ahli (UAE) 1 (Sanqour 17)
 
Group B
 Al Fateh (KSA) 1 (Al-Zaqan 85) Esteghlal Khouzestan (IRI) 1 (Bahrani 90+1)
Al Jazira (UAE) 1 (Boussoufa 17, pen) Lekhwiya (QAT) 3 (Nam Tae-hee 27-pen, 62, Msakni 77)
 
Group G
 Suwon Samsung Bluewings (KOR) 0 Kawasaki Frontale (JPN) 1 (Nara 48)
 Eastern (HKG) 0 Guangzhou Evergrande (CHN) 6 (Paulinho 8, 82, Mitchell 39 OG, Alan 50, 71, Yu Hanchao 90+1)
 
 Group H
 Gamba Osaka (JPN) 3 (Nagasawa 6, Doan 12, Marrone 77-og) Adelaide United (AUS) 3 (Cirio 43, O’Doherty 54, Diawara 90+1)
 Jiangsu Suning (CHN) 1 (Ramires 27) Jeju United (KOR) 2 (Magno Cruz 34, Lee Chang-Min 48)




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