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.

The J.League side are appearing in the last four for the first time after finally advancing from a knockout round match for the first time, while two-time continental champions Suwon last played in the semi-finals back in 2011.

The pair met twice in the group stage, sharing a win apiece, with Kashima claiming victory in Suwon and Suwon gaining revenge in the final round of fixtures to top Group H at the last.

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.

34 goals down, two more to go. Legendary forward Damjanovic's love-affair with Asia's premier club competition keeps enduring.

A runner-up in 2013 with FC Seoul and again a semi-finalist in 2016 with the capital city club, the prolific Montenegrin is now back in the business end of the tournament with Suwon.

Just a brace off the record of current AFC Champions League all-time top scorer Lee Dong-gook, whose side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors were eliminated by Suwon in the quarter-finals, Damjanovic has one eye on that record but - naturally - both on lifting the title itself.

It wouldn't have made for comfortable viewing for Suwon fans on the night, but despite the 3-0 defeat to Jeonbuk at Suwon World Cup Stadium that extinguished a three-goal lead from the first leg, their side were able to see out extra-time and triumph in the resulting penalty shootout.

The victory was thanks largely to the heroics of goalkeeper Shin who not only denied Adriano a match-winning penalty in stoppage time, but also saved from Kim Shin-wook and Lee Dong-gook in the shoot-out, as Suwon ultimately triumphed 4-2.