The hosts managed to level the aggregate score before halftime but were unable to keep Al Sadd's attackers at bay as a Baghdad Bounedjah brace consigned them to elimination.

Just like in the first leg, Al Sadd seized the initiative early on. The 2011 champions found the back of the net inside two minutes, with tournament top scorer Bounedjah dribbling into the box from the left before lashing in a fierce strike past Al Ahli keeper Mohammed Al Owais.

The visitors' delight did not last long as Al Ahli equalised in the ninth minute through Claudemir. The Brazilian midfielder was in the right place in the right time to nod home a header to make it 1-1 on the night.

Al Ahli went on to score another goal and it came just before halftime, when Mohannad Aseri capitalised on Abdelkarim Hassan's failure to clear the ball and tapped in from close range to level the aggregate scores in the 39th minute.

Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah was again the man of the hour for Qatar's Al Sadd. In their Round of 16 second leg against Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli, the 26-year-old netted his eighth and ninth goals of the 2018 AFC Champions League to ensure a 2-2 draw on the night and a 4-3 aggregate win for Al Sadd.

Al Jazira survived 45 minutes of one-way traffic as Persepolis set up shop at their visitors’ end of the pitch in pursuit of an early leveller.

Despite the pressure, the Iranians could only muster a weak header from Siamak Nemati that was saved by goalkeeper Ali Khaseif and an effort from Farshad Ahmadzadeh that missed the target by a small margin as the two sides headed into the break level.

The home side finally found a breakthrough in the 63rd minute after a well-worked attacking move saw Ahmadzadeh lay-off a pass for Ahmad Nourollahi who struck with venom from 25 yards out into the top corner to put Persepolis in front.

After a 96th-minute Al Jazira goal saw the Emirati side claim a 3-2 win in the first leg in Abu Dhabi last week, Persepolis went into the return meeting needing a win to have any chance of progressing to the quarter-finals for the second successive year.

The hosts dominated but had to wait until just after the hour to take the lead through Ahmad Nourollahi’s stunning effort from distance, only for Brazilian Romarinho to level and silence a packed Azadi Stadium shortly after.

But Persepolis kept pushing forward and eventually got the winner their performance deserved when Hosseini, who was suspended for the first leg, fired home from 15 yards after Al Jazira had failed to clear a delivery from the left.

The hosts wasted no time in taking full control and were rewarded with a goal inside 11 minutes when Nam Tae-hee advanced down the left and sent a low ball across the goalmouth that was inadvertently converted by defender Mohamed Ahmad past his own goalkeeper.

Al Duhail doubled their tally at the half-hour mark through Youssef El Arabi who stabbed in Ismail Mohammad’s powerful cross from the right flank.

Very little changed after the break as the Qataris continued to attack in numbers and soon found the net for a third time. El Arabi sent defender Sultan Al Brake through on goal and the latter attempted to lob goalkeeper Khalid Eisa who was able to get his fingertips on the ball before it fell for Mohammad who tapped into the empty net in the 54th minute.

After a tense start, Esteghlal were awarded a penalty kick inside 11 minutes and Senegalese forward Thiam fired from the spot into the bottom left corner, taking the tie back to square one.

Hamid Bouhamdan came close to levelling the score for Zobahan in the 29th minute but his shot from the left cannoned off the woodwork.

As the first half neared its end, Thiam was on target again, this time from outside the box as he curled a left-footed effort that left goalkeeper Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri helpless to put Esteghlal in front four minutes before the break.