Jesualdo Ferreira's high-flying Al Sadd came into the game at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium looking to exploit the absence of several key Persepolis players, but were instead left frustrated by a perfect defensive display from the visitors, before Ali Alipour struck an 86th-minute penalty to seal an unlikely win.

Looking to make a first final appearance since their title win in 2011, hosts Al Sadd started brightly at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium and dominated the majority of the game but spurned a number of chances to break the deadlock.

Those missed opportunities came back to haunt the Qatari side when the Iranian champions clinched a late win with an 86th-minute penalty from Ali Alipour after the forward had been upended by goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb.

The visitors were on the back foot for most of the game, happy to absorb the pressure from Al Sadd. However, they managed to score against the run of play after being awarded a late penalty that was duly dispatched by Ali Alipour.

The result gives Persepolis a vital advantage going into the second leg in Tehran on October 23, when they will be aiming to reach the AFC Champions League final for the first time in their history.

The game got off to a cautious start from both sides and it took until the 16th minute for the first dangerous chance of the game. Al Sadd forward Akram Afif got into the box and had a go at goal but Persepolis goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was on hand to safely gather the ball.

Two minutes later, Persepolis wasted a golden opportunity to take the lead. After Bashar Resan crossed the ball in from the left, Godwin Mensha somehow skied the ball over the crossbar.

The first half then turned out to be a cagey affair with very few noteworthy attempts at either end. However, Afif remained a lively threat for Al Sadd on the left and in the 43rd minute, his low drive at goal was kept out by a fingertip save from the diving Beiranvand.

Iran won the last of their titles in 1976 and Quieroz said this is a wait that must end.

“My responsibility as a coach is to lead my team to our target. Our biggest challenge in the UAE is winning the title. We’ve not won the title since 1976,” the former Real Madrid coach said to the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran website.

Iran are in Group D alongside Iraq, Vietnam and Yemen and their first target will be to navigate into the knockout stage in UAE 2019 on January 5-February 1.

To go two goals down after just six minutes of play was not the way Kashima Antlers had planned to begin their first-ever continental semi-final, admitted Japanese star Uchida, but the J.League club roared back to record an impressive come-from-behind victory at Kashima Soccer Stadium.

Suwon stunned the hosts by taking an early 2-0 lead but Kashima pulled one back soon after and scored two late goals to clinch an unlikely victory.

There was a sensational start as Suwon took the lead in the second minute of the game through an own goal. Yeom Ki-hun’s low corner was touched goalwards by Koo Ja-ryong and it came off Atsuto Uchida’s shoulder before crossing the line.

Unbelievably, it was 2-0 to the visitors just four minutes later. A poor defensive clearance saw the ball fall to Dejan Damjanovic and the striker surged toward goal before beating Kwoun Sun-tae from a narrow angle at his near post.